MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. The United States has warned participants in the upcoming international exhibition in Damascus of possible sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
"We have heard that the United States threatens participants in this exhibition with sanctions, saying that any presence at this event would mean support to the Syrian regime, as it put it," he said. "It is a familiar rhetoric we hear in respect of Syria and a number of other countries which have their own stance rather than dance to someone else’s tune."
But, in his words, the situation on the Euphrates' east bank, which is controlled by units of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces armed coalition, is absolutely different. "They [the United States] don’t mind anyone implementing any projects on the Euphrates' east bank. Moreover, they call on their allies in the region and in Europe to spare no effort to revive normal life there, to restore infrastructure, make steps to resolve humanitarian problems and create conditions in a long-term perspective for normal functioning of this territory," Lavrov noted.
He stressed that such an approach was unacceptable. "As a matter of fact, such a policy towards the Euphrates east bank means that the United States has embarked on a path of undermining Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. "It is a blatant violation of the United States’ commitments it undertook along with other members of international community when it voted for the UN Security Council resolution."
The Russian top diplomat expressed hope that the United States would be more respectful of international law. "But its actions in respect of the Iran nuclear deal, in respect of the Paris Agreement on climate change, in respect of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty leave little hope that these calls would be heeded," he emphasized.
Damascus will host an international exhibition from August 28 to September 6.