The European Union said that Syria requested humanitarian aid to deal with the repercussions of the devastating earthquake, stressing that the sanctions it imposed on the Syrian government had no effect on its ability to assist.
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Janiz Lenarcic said on Wednesday that Syria had asked for everything from search and rescue aid to medicine and food.
Reuters quoted the European official as saying that the European Union encourages its members to contribute, and denied that the sanctions would have an impact on the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Syria has been subject to European Union sanctions since 2011. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans on hundreds of people and entities.
For its part, the US State Department said: “We will not obstruct the provision of aid by other parties through the Syrian government.”
And Syrian state media reported that more than 298,000 people were forced to leave their homes due to the devastating earthquake that hit the country this week.
The Syrian Arab News Agency, quoting Hussein Makhlouf, Minister of Local Administration and Environment, stated that the state had opened 180 shelters for the displaced.
