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US sanctions stall Syrian settlement, aim to stifle its economy, says Russian diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also drew attention to the behavior of the self-proclaimed administration in northeastern Syria, supported by the US, "where local Kurds play the first fiddle"

MOSCOW, September 17./TASS/. US restrictions are stalling the political process of the Syrian settlement and add to the sufferings of the Syrian people, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday.

A tendency towards normalization of the situation is gaining momentum on most of the Syrian territory under the control of its legitimate government. The country’s authorities are taking steps to overcome severe consequences of the armed conflict, but the potential they rely on is sizably narrowed due to the violation of the territorial integrity of the Arab republic and disruption of economic ties.

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"Tough individual anti-Syrian sanctions imposed by the US and also its allies are having their toll. Meanwhile, American restrictions, especially after the enforcement of the so-called Caesar Act, go far beyond the framework of US national jurisdiction, building barriers for international trade," the Russian diplomat said.

"Politically, these measures are hampering the Syrian settlement, as well as the political process, including the activity of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, while from the humanitarian point of view they add to the sufferings of the Syrian people," Zakharova stressed.

"Even amid the pandemic, Washington did not agree to certain humanitarian exemptions, continuing the policy towards economic strangulation of Syria as a state, as well as the Syrian people," she added.

The diplomat also drew attention to the behavior of the self-proclaimed administration in northeastern Syria, supported by the US, "where local Kurds play the first fiddle". According to her, this administration demonstrates movements potentially destructive for the unity of Syria.

"On the one hand, its leadership categorically denies accusations of separatism, but on the other - it goes into dangerous games with the Americans by signing illegal contracts with them, and pandering to the plunder of hydrocarbon riches of the Trans-Euphrates region," the diplomat explained. "This is being done at the time when the Syrian people badly need these resources for restoring the normal functioning of the fuel-and-energy sector of the country," Zakharova stressed.

She also emphasized Russia’s readiness to continue rendering aid to the Syrian people. "I would like to reiterate that relying on Resolution 2254 o the UN Security Council, Russia is ready to continue giving assistance to the Syrian people in their standing against dangerous political and socio-economic challenges on the path of building a new and modern Syria in the interests of all its citizens," the diplomat summed up.

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Maria Zakharova

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