US sanctions - the so-called Caesar's law - will not affect cooperation between Moscow and Damascus, including military cooperation - to fight terrorism in Syria, said Mikhail Bogdanov, Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.
US President Donald Trump signed the "Act to protect the civilian population of Syria", the so-called Caesar's law, at the end of 2019. This law came into force on June 1 and includes sanctions affecting almost all areas of the Syrian economy. The sanctions list was expanded on June 17, and 14 people, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma al-Assad and his sister Bushra al-Assad, as well as 21 organizations, were placed under restrictions.
"These sanctions, we believe that they are absolutely illegal and illegitimate. They harm the Syrian people, as they hinder the normal interaction of the international community with the SAR - a full member of the UN," Bogdanov said.
"We will continue to provide the necessary assistance to our friends- the Syrian people - in overcoming the difficulties that the country faces, especially in socio-economic terms. We have a special relationship," the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said. He recalled that the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation is working, "it will continue to work".
"Our tasks remain the same - the fight against terrorism on Syrian ground, the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, Hayat Tahrir al-sham( banned in the Russian Federation), which, unfortunately, continue to conduct their criminal activities in a number of areas of Syria. Therefore, the multi-faceted cooperation between our countries, which is of a traditional nature, will continue. And no one can prevent us from doing this. Those who try to do harm, put a spoke in the wheel, well, it will remain on their conscience," Bogdanov said, answering the question whether US sanctions will affect military cooperation between Moscow and Damascus.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Caesar's Law that came into force in the United States and related sanctions against the Syrian government are actually hitting ordinary Syrians.
"Caesar Act", which in words is aimed at "protecting the civilian population", in fact hits ordinary Syrians, " the Ministry said in a statement.
"Washington is fully aware that the unilateral US sanctions that have been in effect for several years, to which new restrictions will be added today, have largely provoked the devaluation of the Syrian Lira and a jump in prices for fuel, food and essential goods. As a result, thousands of ordinary Syrians, according to representatives of specialized UN humanitarian agencies, were literally on the verge of survival, " the Ministry added.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that in parallel, the Americans are actively promoting the thesis of their huge donor assistance while keeping silent about the illegal trade in Syrian hydrocarbons, "freezing" Syrian Bank assets and blocking international funding owed to Syria. "But they do not forget to mention the well-established system of humanitarian exemptions, which allegedly do not prevent the provision of humanitarian assistance to Syria and bring extraterritorial sanctions, which are illegal in nature, in line with the norms of international law," the Foreign Ministry stressed.
"It is no secret that unilateral restrictions adopted in circumvention of the UN Security Council block the import of medicines to Syria, including raw materials for the production of medicines and anesthetics, computers and high - tech devices (x-ray scanners, ventilators, dialysis and radiation therapy machines), as well as fertilizers, water purification systems, construction equipment, power generators, etc.", pointed out on Smolenskaya square.
The Foreign Ministry recalled that in 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures, Idris Jazairi, in a report on the results of a visit to Syria, directly said that multi-level sanctions hinder the provision of humanitarian assistance and violate the rights of Syrians. Their negative effect can not be compensated by millions of donor contributions, nor by wavers, which are limited and extremely bureaucratic, he added. "It is also obvious that nothing has changed since then, only Washington's sanctions against Syria have been further expanded and tightened," the Ministry concluded.
New sanctions
Caesar's law was included in the US military budget for the fiscal year 2020 (started on October 1, 2019) and signed by President Donald Trump on December 20, 2019. After that, the US government had 180 days to prepare the first restrictions, which expired on June 17. The law gives the US administration the right to impose restrictive measures against organizations and individuals providing direct and indirect support to the Syrian government, as well as various armed groups operating in the country, which, according to the US version, are supported by the authorities of Syria, Russia and Iran.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from RIA Novosti, TASS