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MOSCOW accused the United States of supporting terrorism today after Washington imposed sanctions against two Russian companies on suspicion of supplying Iranian oil to Syria.
Global Vision Group and Promsyrioimport were hit by US sanctions yesterday with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claiming the move was aimed “against a complex scheme Iran and Russia have used to bolster the Assad regime and generate funds for malign Iranian activity.”
He claimed the Russian companies “are central to the delivery of oil from Iran to Syria, and the transfer of funds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force’s lethal proxies.”
However the Russian Foreign Ministry hit back in a statement warning that the move was a boost for terrorist groups and also detrimental to Syrian efforts at rebuilding the country after seven years of war.
It claimed the sanctions were driven by the domestic political struggle in the US which saw the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in this month’s midterm elections.
“Accusations concerning oil supplies to Syria – a country whose armed forces have been fighting terrorist aggression for over seven years – look like a statement of support for terrorists and also show a desire to prevent the reconstruction of the war-torn country, where many people live without electricity and heating. Is it what the United States really wants?” the Russian ministry statement said.
“Washington has been demonstrating its inability to make our country change its independent stance at the international stage.”
“US politicians should start getting rid of illusions about their nation’s omnipotence that they have convinced themselves of. Self-deception is a dangerous thing,” it concluded.
Moscow and Damascus have long-accused the US of supporting jihadist groups in Syria as they attempt to oust the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Their claims appear to be supported with discoveries of US weapons in former jihadist strongholds during clean-up operations by the Syrian Arab Army.
Syria has called on the United Nations to investigate claims that the US has used the banned chemical white phosphorus on at least four occasions since September during bombing raids in Deir Ezzor.
Iran condemned the latest US sanctions yesterday with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi branding them “irrational and ineffective.”