Russian MFA: US sanctions are slowing down the settlement in Syria and are aimed at suffocating its economy

18 September 2020

American restrictions are slowing down the political process of the Syrian settlement and contributing to the suffering of the Syrian people, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said a briefing.


The diplomat noted that in most of the Syrian territory under the control of the legitimate government of this country, the trend towards normalization of the situation is strengthening. According to her, the country's authorities are taking measures to overcome the severe consequences of the armed conflict, but the potential they rely on is significantly narrowed due to the violation of the territorial integrity of the Arab Republic and the severance of economic ties.


"The harsh regime of unilateral anti-Syrian sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies is also affecting. At the same time, American restrictions, especially after the entry into force of the so - called Caesar act, go far beyond the national jurisdiction of the United States, creating barriers to international trade, the diplomat said. "In political terms, these measures hinder the Syrian settlement, as well as the course of the political process, including the work of the constitutional committee in Geneva, and in humanitarian terms, they result in additional suffering for the Syrian people."


"Even in the face of the pandemic, Washington did not go for any humanitarian exemptions and continued the line of economic suffocation of Syria as a whole, both the state and the Syrian people," Zakharova stressed.

 

Dangerous fluctuations


The diplomat also drew attention to the behavior of the self-proclaimed administration of North-Eastern Syria, supported by the United States, "where local Kurds play a leading part." According to her, this administration "shows hesitation, fraught with simply devastating consequences for the unity of Syria."


"On the one hand, its leadership categorically denies accusations of separatism, and on the other, it starts dangerous games with the Americans, signing illegal contracts with them, indulging in the plundering of the hydrocarbon riches of the  Euphrates Region," she explained. "This is being done at a time when the Syrian people are in dire need of these resources to restore the normal functioning of the state's fuel and energy complex."


Willingness to help


At the same time, Zakharova noted Russia's readiness to continue providing assistance to the Syrian people. "I would like to reiterate that Russia is ready to continue, based on UN Security Council resolution 2254, to assist the Syrian people in confronting dangerous political and socio-economic challenges on the way to building a renewed and modern Syria in the interests of all its citizens," the diplomat concluded.

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Based on materials TASS