Sanctions on Syria Affect Aid Deliveries Amid Earthquake Response, IFRC Says

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Sanctions against Syria, which is dealing with the fallout of the devastating earthquake, drive prices up for everything and slow down humanitarian operations, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told Sputnik.

"Sanctions do have these unintended consequences. And if I summarize, [it] increases the prices on everything that we do, takes more time to deliver the humanitarian services, it sometimes requires private supplies that could again increase the cost and there is this level of fear sometimes to facilitate the existing procedures [with regard to] sanctions," IFRC Under-Secretary-General for Operations Coordination Xavier Castellanos said in an interview.

Turkiye and Syria were rattled on Monday by a pair of major earthquakes and dozens of aftershocks that killed more than 10,000 people and collapsed thousands of homes. Syria's death toll has topped 1,200 people.

Russian rescue teams are working on the ground in both countries. In Syria, Russian military are involved in rescue operations.