EU Adds 20 Names to Syria Sanctions List, Mulls Oil Imports Ban
The EU announced late Friday that 20 new names have been added to a list of Syrian individuals and businesses hit with sanctions, with a deal also now close for a ban on oil imports.
European Union governments meeting in Brussels also decided to prepare detailed plans for an embargo on the import of Syrian crude oil into the bloc and suspending assistance to Syria by the European Investment Bank.
"Today, the European Union has reached political agreement on the addition of 20 Syrian individuals or entities to the list of those targeted by an asset freeze and travel ban," the bloc's foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.
"Moreover, political agreement has been reached to extend the scope of the EU restrictive measures against the regime," she added.
"Proposals are now being prepared for an embargo on the import of Syrian crude oil," she said, as well as "suspending the technical assistance of the European Investment Bank" and imposing an asset freeze and travel ban on those benefiting from or supporting the regime's policies.
These will be examined by ministers "early next week," she said.
Ashton reiterated a call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit power, saying "indiscriminate military force" used against protesters in a months-long crackdown meant a "complete loss of the Syrian regime's legitimacy."
The EU has already adopted a series of sanctions against Syria since it began its bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters. They include asset freezes and travel bans against 35 people and four businesses, as well as an arms embargo.
Source: Agence France Presse
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