Syria: US decision to temporarily freeze sanctions aims at giving a false humanitarian impression

The US administration’s decision to partially and temporarily freeze some unilateral coercive measures it has imposed on the Syrian people for years is misleading and aims at giving a false humanitarian impression, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement on Friday, commenting on the new US decision.

“It is nothing but a copy of previous pseudo decisions aiming at giving a false humanitarian impression, as the decision provides for alleged exemptions for humanitarian purposes which have been proved to be false by facts on the ground,” the ministry added.

“Indeed, the US administration has recently tightened these measures by targeting a number of public and private hospitals and preventing them from even maintaining medical equipment that serves hundreds of thousands of Syrian patients,” the ministry clarified.

The ministry went on to say that the US sanctions and policies have deprived the Syrian people of their natural wealth and limited the state’s ability to improve living standards, achieve development goals and provide basic services, urging the United States to end immediately and without hesitation, conditions or exceptions, the sanctions and to stop its cruel practices and violations of international law and the principles and goals of the UN Charter.

The U.S. administration will not be able to deceive the Syrians and the world by its attempts to polish its image and evade its responsibility for obstructing the efforts aiming at saving lives and supporting those affected by the earthquake, the ministry pointed out.

Syria calls on all countries and international organizations that have supported Syrian people in their ordeal to demand unconditional and immediate lifting of the unjust, immoral and illegal blockade imposed the country.

Hamda Mustafa