OREANDA-NEWS. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad condemned the refusal of the United States and other Western countries to lift the unjust unilateral sanctions from which nations suffer amid the coronavirus epidemic.

The politician stated this at a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Damascus. “The United States and a number of other states, unfortunately, are using this epidemic to achieve political goals,” al-Assad said. “Even in these exceptional humanitarian conditions, they keep sanctions.” According to the President, such an approach exposes the immorality of the ruling circles of the West. “Coronavirus has shown that these governments act for the sake of a small group of the powers that be and do not serve the interests of their peoples,” al-Assad stressed.

He also expressed condolences to the leadership of Iran about the consequences of the epidemic of coronavirus infection.