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FM spokesperson slams US as bandit over reported theft of Syrian oil
Published: Jul 20, 2022 08:20 PM
Wang Wenbin File Photo: FM

Wang Wenbin File Photo: FM

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin described reported US stealing of oil resources from oilfields it occupied in Syria and the smuggling of stolen oil to northern Iraq as actions of bandits at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

The illegal occupation of Syria's major oilfields and grain production area and the pillaging of Syrian resources add salt to Syrian wounds, and the action marked another low point in US track record on human rights, Wang said.

The US should respect Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, immediately lift its unilateral sanction measures imposed on Syria and stop plundering the country's resources, Wang said, noting that 90 percent of Syrian people live below poverty line; two thirds subsisted on humanitarian aids and half has no guaranteed grain security.

In Syria, the US flanked the tests for both safeguarding human rights and the rule of law, despite its repeated bragging of implementing the two in self-trumpeted "highest standards," Wang said.

Wang's remarks were made in comments to media reports that US armed forces continue smuggling stolen oil from Syrian province of Hasaka - a third incidence this month.

In addition to the theft in Syria, the US is also widely criticized in the world for illegally freezing $7 billion Afghan central bank assets.