US' 'Democracy'-Driven Anti-Syria Sanctions Yield 'Starkly Opposite Results'

The United States’ sanctions against Syria proved fruitless and were compounded by Washington’s direct interference in the country’s internal affairs, the head of the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev said, commenting on President Trump’s decision to extend US sanctions against Damascus.

"Unfortunately, what we see is an extension of the sanctions the United States imposed on Syria back in in 2004. They didn’t work and from 2011 onward they were replaced by a policy of direct interference in the country’s domestic affairs by means of fomenting civil protest,” Kosachev said in an interview with Sputnik.

The US sanctions against Syria have been in place since 2004, with former President Barack Obama extending the sanctions against Syria twice, in 2011 and 2012.

Kosachev pointed out that as a result of this Syria was plunged into a devastating civil war and fell victim to a mounting wave of terrorist activity.

“Here is a graphic example of sanctions, purportedly imposed in the name of ‘democracy,’ producing starkly opposite results. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we are going to see happening again and again,” Kosachev emphasized.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump extended US sanctions against Syria for another year, citing the Syrian government’s alleged use of war chemicals against civilians.

In April, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a government airbase in Syria in response to the alleged use by President Assad’s forces of chemical weapons in Idlib province, which left over 80 people dead.

The Syrian government said it had never used chemical weapons against civilians or terrorists active in the country.

Russia condemned the missile attack as a violation of international law and called for a thorough and unbiased investigation into the incident.

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