Russians Send Emergency Aid to Syria

http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/22/2013/02/19/467870.htm

I'm not sure if these two aircraft are the same earlier reports mentioned or two new planes. But 44 tons of material isn't much for a country as large as Syria.  The Iranians just dispatched 100 tons of food. Obviously, there is a food shortage. And obviously the Iranians and Russians are trying to help.

I would also note that the Russians are themselves facing a grain shortage and are importing grain, which they are dumping in the provinces to prevent food price hikes. So sending grain to Syria involves importing grain from the West. Or, to look at it another way, when we sell grain to the Russians, who are not supporting the sanctions against Syria, we are supplying Assad with food.