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Coronavirus pandemic

Syrian diplomat slams US sanctions hindering medicine supplies as medical terrorism

The diplomat called on the World Health Organization to raise its voice against the United States’ economic restrictions

Syria’s Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

Syria’s Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad

© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Syria’s Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad has slammed US sanctions against his country that hinder supplies of medical products and medicines amid the coronavirus pandemic as "medical terrorism."

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"The United States’ sanctions against Syria are actions running counter to international law. It happens at a time when all the nations have mobilized to combat the coronavirus infection. So, such actions are inhumane. Syria needs both medicines, and medical goods, and other means to combat the virus. Being deprived of such assistance, we see a new type of terrorism — medical terrorism — against people because the lack of medicines causes human deaths," he told an online conference on Monday timed to mark International Quds Day.

The diplomat called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise its voice against the United States’ economic restrictions.

According to Syria’s health ministry, as many as 6,781 people have been placed at specialized quarantine centers since February 5. By today, a total of 2,270 people who have returned from foreign countries in the past two weeks are under medical supervision. Thirteen of them tested positive on Saturday and Sunday. Since March 22, fifty-eight coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country. Thirty-six patients have recovered and three have died.

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