A Chinese envoy on Tuesday asked the United States to immediately lift unilateral sanctions against Syria.
Years of economic blockade have caused tremendous hardships to the Syrian people, in particular women and children. The sufferings caused by the devaluation of the Syrian currency and soaring commodities prices, including food prices, fall heavily on civilians across the country, said Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
“We urge the United States to respond actively to the urgent appeal of the (UN) secretary-general and the special envoy (for Syria), and to lift unilateral sanctions immediately,” he told a virtual meeting of the Security Council.
What is even more worrying is that the United States will impose new rounds of sanctions against Syria. These sanctions will inevitably further hinder the economic and social development of Syria as well as the livelihood of ordinary Syrians, said Zhang.
As vulnerable countries like Syria are struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, imposing more sanctions is simply inhumane and may cause additional catastrophes, he warned.
