Date: 2021
Type: Other
Russian investment in Syrian phosphate : opportunities and challenges
Policy Briefs, 2021/04, Middle East Directions (MED), Wartime and Post-Conflict in Syria
AL-ALLAF, Azzam, SAID, Salam, Russian investment in Syrian phosphate : opportunities and challenges, Policy Briefs, 2021/04, Middle East Directions (MED), Wartime and Post-Conflict in Syria - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/69882
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
While analysts regularly point out that Russia is seizing Syrian’s natural resources including phosphates as a compensation for its costly military intervention to support Damascus, the question arises how these resources are managed and at what cost. This paper begins with a description of Russia's investment in Syrian phosphate, from the mines and the fertiliser plant in Homs governorate to the exporting port of Tartous. It then addresses the main security and economic challenges facing the Russian investment, including the means to protect the production chain in an insecure environment and the consequences of privatisation on the socio-economic situation of Syrian workers. The paper is based on secondary literature and on a dozen interviews with Syrian workers, employees and military members involved in the phosphate production chain between June and December 2020.
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/69882
Full-text via DOI: 10.2870/42382
ISBN: 9789290849599
ISSN: 2467-4540
Series/Number: Policy Briefs; 2021/04; Middle East Directions (MED); Wartime and Post-Conflict in Syria
Publisher: European University Institute
Keyword(s): Phosphate Privatisation Political Economy Russia Syria