UNILATERAL Western sanctions against Syria were branded “absolute rudeness” today by Czech MEP Katerina Konecna.

She said that the “inhuman and immoral” measures were slowing down economic recovery in the Middle Eastern country, which is rebuilding after more than a decade of war.

Ms Konecna, chairwoman of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, accused the West of showing double standards by claiming to want to help those in need while at the same time starving the Syrian people.