Following calls, US temporarily lifts some Syria-related sanctions

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Feb 08:24
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The United States complies with international calls to lift Syria-related sanctions amid the aftermath of the earthquake, albeit temporarily.

Rescue teams conduct search and rescue operation in Aleppo, Feb. 8 (AFP)

The US Treasury Department announced a temporary lifting of some Syria-related sanctions following calls from the Syrian state and the international community in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude that struck Syria and Turkey.

In a statement, the Department indicated that the move "authorizes for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations."

According to the statement, the license includes "the processing or transfer of funds on behalf of third-country persons to or from Syria in support of the transactions."

It added that the license does not authorize transactions involving "any person whose property and interests in property are blocked" due to the Caesar act.

The Treasury Department's late temporary lifting of some Syria-related sanctions comes four days after more than 3,500 Syrians were killed as a result of Monday's devastating earthquake after rescue operations were hindered due to the lack of heavy machinery and medical supplies and the poor infrastructure in certain areas.

UN urges no 'politicization' of aid to Syria

On Thursday, the United Nations stressed the need to avoid "politicization" of aid to earthquake victims in Syria and urged Washington and Brussels to ensure there were "no impediments".

"Emergency response must not be politicized," Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, told reporters in Geneva, saying aid is needed to get to state-controlled areas, as well as those controlled by militants.

US sanctions on Syria hinder aid supply, leave thousands under rubble

In the same context, the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies said US draconian sanctions against Syria raise prices and hamper humanitarian operations.

In an interview for Sputnik, Xavier Castellanos, IFRC Under-Secretary-General for Operations Coordination, said, "Sanctions do have these unintended consequences. And if I summarize, [it] increases the prices on everything that we do, takes more time to deliver the humanitarian services, it sometimes requires private supplies that could again increase the cost and there is this level of fear sometimes to facilitate the existing procedures [with regard to] sanctions."

On Tuesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Al Mayadeen that "the US sanctions are prohibiting Syria from accessing anything, including medicine."

West provides earthquake relief only to militant-held areas

According to Bouthaina Shaaban, the Syrian Presidency’s Special Advisor, Western countries are not providing necessary aid to the Syrian government, which is dealing with the fallout of the devastating earthquake, and only send them to areas in Syria that are controlled by militant terrorist groups.

"Unfortunately, the West only cares about areas where the terrorists are - where the White Helmets are - but they do not care about the areas in which most Syrian people live... Most of the money, all of the equipment has been dispatched to Turkey from Europe and from the US. Nothing to Syria from Europe, at all," Shaaban told Sky News.

In the wake of the earthquakes that struck #Turkey and #Syria, it's good to remember the necessary measures to take when an #earthquake strikes your area. pic.twitter.com/noieSx7SJD
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 7, 2023

Turkey-Syria Earthquake

Thousands have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a powerful earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday. The magnitude 7.8 quake was one of the strongest to strike the area in more than a century. Rescue workers are digging through debris in freezing conditions, while the death toll is on the rise.