Syria refers to US temporary sanctions waiver as ‘misleading’

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen Net
11 Feb 2023 13:14
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Syria urges the US to unconditionally lift all sanctions on Syria, urging it to quit violating international law and the UN charter.

Syria following the destruction of the earthquake (Reuters)

Due to the current logistical difficulties following the powerful earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, and following international outcry, the US has decided to issue a six-month sanctions exemption on Syria for all disaster relief-related transactions, but Syria has dismissed the US' sanctions waiver as "misleading".

“The misleading decision taken by the US administration to temporarily ease some of the cruel and unilateral sanctions on the Syrian nation is out of sham and hypocrisy and is no different from previous gestures meant to convey an erroneous humanitarian impression. While the sanctions waiver is proclaimed to allow the flow of humanitarian aid, the realities on the ground prove the opposite,” the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement on Friday.

It added, “US coercive measures and policies have deprived Syrians of their natural wealth, which is being plundered, and have created obstacles for state institutions to improve living standards, implement development projects and achieve targeted goals, and provide basic services.”

Call for international support in the face of the US

As an immediate response, the Syrian Foreign Ministry called on Washington to remove all anti-Syria sanctions. Syria urged the US to cease its hostile practices and to finally put an end to all international law and UN Charter violations against Syria.

The Syrian government also urged all countries to show unconditional support for Syria in the face of this atrocity, calling the US administration deceitful for this temporary sanctions waiver.

Russia: Organizations ignoring Syria’s cry for help

The Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria mentions that international organizations are not presenting Syrians affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake with aid.

“We have to draw the international community’s attention to the fact that these institutions are dodging their responsibilities and do not render assistance to the Syrian victims of the earthquake,” the Head of the center, Major General Oleg Yegorov, said on Friday.

Syria is supposed to receive humanitarian assistance via the cross-border corridor at a checkpoint in Idlib province into territories that are not controlled by the Syrian government, according to the UN mandate, however, Western sanctions are causing a large population to suffer in the quake-devastated areas.

With thousands killed by the disastrous earthquake in Syria, the Syrian government is still distributing aid, with humanitarian aid convoys arriving at the seaports of Latakia and Tartus.