Unilateral sanctions only prolong crisis, suffering in Syria

In an address to a UN Security Council session on Monday on the humanitarian situation in Syria, Majid Takht-Ravanchi said while providing humanitarian aid to Syria is of high urgency, it cannot solve the country’s problem in the long run.

The Iranian envoy noted that imposition of unilateral sanctions on Syria is a detrimental act, which only worsens the crisis in a country that is already grappling with other difficulties, including the novel coronavirus pandemic, Press TV reported.

Takht-Ravanchi said it is clear that some countries are using sanctions to attain the goals they have failed to achieve through military or political means.

The diplomat described imposition of sanctions on the supply of food and medicine as an unjust and unacceptable measure that threatens food security of a nation.

The main goal of sanctions is collective punishment of a nation, which in legal terms, amounts to blatant violation of the goals and principles of the United Nations and, therefore, must end immediately, he added

Takht-Ravanchi reiterated that the crisis in Syria has no military solution and the only way out of it is a peaceful solution based on the norms and principles of international law.

He said stopping the armed conflict, assuring Syria’s full sovereignty and territorial integrity, removal of all unilateral sanctions, and avoiding of political handling of such humanitarian issues as reconstruction of Syria and the return of refugees and displaced people to their homes are major steps that can assure long-term resolution of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria.

He also reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to pursuing the political solution to Syria crisis and providing continued support to the people and government of Syria.

Over the past years, the US has been maintaining an illegal military presence on Syrian soil, collaborating with anti-Damascus militants and stealing the country’s crude oil resources.

It has slapped rounds of crippling sanctions on Syria, which has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011.

MNA/PR