Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry. Photo: CFP

 
When asked for comment on a report that the US Treasury has announced a 180-day exemption on Thursday to its sanctions on Syria for "all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts," the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded on Monday that the US government should immediately lift unilateral sanctions against Syria instead of making a political show of temporary easing.

Following the devastating series of earthquakes that struck southern Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, Syrian government spokeswoman Bouthaina Shaaban told Sky News that if the US and the European Union lifted sanctions, "the Syrian people will be able to take care of their country."

However, the US State Department has dismissed such calls. The US government has imposed a number of sanctions against Syria going back to 1979. US' military intervention and illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria over the years have severely aggravated the crisis in the economy and people's livelihood in Syria, and greatly weakened Syria's ability to cope with disasters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during Monday's press briefing.

After the earthquake, the unilateral sanctions of the US directly hindered the 72-hour golden aid to Syria, which made the local disaster worse, Wang noted. As Bouthaina Shaaban, special adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared: "It's not humanity, it's politics."

"We urge the US government to put aside its geopolitical calculations, immediately lift all illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria and stop creating a man-made humanitarian disaster," Wang said.