Sergey Lavrov Photo: Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia

 Western countries persist in sanctions pressure despite the pandemic, making use of coronavirus woes to punish "unwelcome" governments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, despite the pandemic and the obvious need to consolidate efforts, some Western counterparts still have no intention to reconsider their selfish line, abandon strong-arm approaches and illegitimate methods of blackmail and pressure," Lavrov told the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

According to the top Russian diplomat, the West has ignored calls of the UN secretary-general and the UN high commissioner for human rights to suspend those unilateral sanctions that cripple supplies of food, medicines and equipment necessary to fight the coronavirus, as well as unblock related financial transactions.

"Western capitals persist in ignoring the destructive impact of illegal restrictions on the enjoyment of human rights. We view this as not only politicization of humanitarian issues, but also as the desire to use the pandemic to punish so-called unwelcome governments," the minister said.