UNITED NATIONS, November 29. /TASS/. The Western countries do not stop plundering Syria’s natural resources. In October alone, with support from the US military, more than 160 truckloads of crude oil and wheat were taken out of Syria to Iraq, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

"Food shortages have hit another record-high: 12 million people are experiencing them and about 2 million more are at risk of finding themselves in a similar position," Nebenzya said. "The main problems are the unilateral sanctions amid a chronic lack of funding for the UN humanitarian plan for Syria. Under the early recovery projects most of the funds, under pressure from the Western donors, go to territories not controlled by Damascus, where less than a third of the country's population lives," he said.

"In the meantime, the so-called fighters against terrorism do not stop plundering the natural resources of Syria," he noted. "Last month alone, with support from the US military, more than 160 truckloads of oil and wheat were taken out of Syria to Iraq. For more than 10 years, the UN has been able to collect at best half of the funds requested for the implementation of the humanitarian plan for that country. By the end of November, only 44% has been raised."