8 countries under unilateral sanctions ask UN chief for help

Eight countries under unilateral sanctions, mainly from the United States and European Union, urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday to request the immediate and complete lifting of those measures to enable the nations to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a joint letter obtained by The Associated Press, the ambassadors from China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Venezuela urged the UN chief to "reject the politicization of such a pandemic."
The ambassadors, who said they were under instructions from their foreign ministers, did not name any countries responsible for what they called "illegal, coercive measures of economic pressure."
In a speech to the Group of 20 major industrialized nations on Thursday, Secretary-General Guterres appealed "for the waiving of sanctions that can undermine countries' capacity to respond to the pandemic."