"The Western capitals continue to stubbornly ignore the harmful influence of unlawful restrictions on human rights. We regard this not only as politicization of humanitarian issues, but also as a wish to use the pandemic for punitive measures against undesirable governments," Lavrov said.
He expressed regret over the fact that despite the pandemic and obvious need for consolidating efforts "some Western colleagues still show no intention of reconsidering their selfish policies" and giving up approaches from the position of strength and illegitimate methods of blackmail and pressure.
"Calls by the UN Secretary-General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for suspending unilateral sanctions on the supplies of food, medicines and equipment necessary for the struggle against the coronavirus and the corresponding financial transactions have been ignored. Let me remind you that Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for creating green corridors in international trade free from sanctions and other artificial barriers," he added.
