Moscow Calls New US Sanctions on Syria a Tool to Exert Pressure on Assad

PRAGUE (Sputnik) - The United States keeps putting pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to undermine his efforts to normalize the situation in the country, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Sputnik on Wednesday, reacting to a new batch of Washington's sanctions on Syria.

"Sanctions are one of the [US] tools to exert pressure on Damascus in order to make it difficult for Bashar Assad and his government to continue this work [to normalise the situation in Syria]," Ryabkov said.

The US administration is apparently not satisfied with the successful efforts of the legitimate government in Damascus to stabilise the situation in the country and maintain the territorial integrity of Syria, he added.

On Tuesday, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control unveiled a new round of restrictions against Syria. It sanctioned 16 individuals and entities associated with the Assad administration.

Earlier, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee's announced the decision to impose new restrictions on the Syrian government, its supporters and those who fund the country’s aircraft and energy industries. 

US sanctions prohibit material support to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, including shipments of oil to Syrian government-controlled ports, as well as material support to designated terrorist groups.

Damascus has repeatedly slammed US and EU sanctions, with President Bashar Assad stressing that the damage caused by the restrictions were more damaging than jihadists.