Lavrov: Washington tries to intensify pressure on countries with independent foreign policies amid Coronavirus crisis

MOSCOW, (ST)- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed that the United States is trying to use the Coronavirus pandemic crisis to impose its own rules and points of view and to intensify pressure on the countries that pursue independent foreign policies.

During the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s foreign ministers via video, Lavrov said that “even amid the pandemic outbreak, America and its allies continue to stir up confrontation and use the current situation to impose their point of view and their vision of the future order, which they call the rules-based order,” reiterating that America is the party that invented these rules.

The Russian top diplomat went on to say that more pressure is being put on the countries that pursue independent foreign policies.

 “There are baseless allegations against the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation and calls for the suspension of unilateral sanctions during the fight against coronavirus are being ignored,” said Lavrov, pointing out that these sanctions impede the humanitarian supplies of medicines, equipment and food.

The global outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, which threatens all of  mankind, hasn’t prevented the United States from continuing its violations of international and humanitarian laws and from imposing unfair sanctions and unilateral coercive measures on Syria and several other countries like Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. Washington also gives no heed to all calls for lifting these sanctions.

 Hamda Mustafa