TEHRAN (Iran News) – The European Union (EU) supported on Friday the application of the “humanitarian exception” so that economic sanctions on countries like Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela are suspended amid the countries’ efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
In a telematic press conference, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, explained that this has been agreed by the EU’s foreign officials during a videoconference meeting that they held on Friday, according to EN24.
González Laya recalled that all the economic sanctions imposed by both the United States and other countries “always carry a humanitarian clause or exception” whereby the sanctions are suspended in the face of a humanitarian emergency such as the one causing the coronavirus.
As the pandemic progresses, EU ministers have supported the call of the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, for “mechanisms for the humanitarian exception to be arbitrated and for the necessary medical supplies to reach sanctioned countries as well.”
“We have to make sure that this clause can be invoked and that the countries and companies that produce equipment and sanitary material can and do respect it to make sure that everyone has the means to fight the pandemic,” said González Laya.
The Spanish minister also stressed the importance of Europe supporting the most vulnerable countries, both in Africa and in Latin America, especially in Venezuela and the countries around it that have received a large influx of refugees.
- source : MNA, Irannews
