Pope says no to sanctions hampering Turkey/Syria quake aid

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 23 - Pope Francis on Thursday came out against sanctions that may hamper rescue, relief and aid operations in the areas of Turkey and Syria hit by the earthquakes that have left over 47,000 dead.
    "Some of you come from sorely tribulated Syria; I would like to express a particular closeness to that dear people, tried not only by the war, but also by the earthquake that, as in Turkey, has caused so many victims and terrible devastation," Francis told an audience of young priests and monks of the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
    "In the face of the suffering of so many innocent people, children, women, mothers, families, I hope that everything possible will be done for the people, that there will be no reasons or sanctions that hinder the urgent and necessary aid to the population". (ANSA).