EU embargoes Syrian oil
A new resolution from European Union countries bans imports as a way to pressure the Syrian leader to resign from power; the military crackdown in the country has already left two thousand dead.
European Union (EU) governments have reached an agreement to ban oil imports from Syria, diplomats revealed on Sunday, as President Bashar al-Assad prepares for his first television appearance in two months of violent protests. The new resolution, drafted over the weekend, includes "restrictive measures in the oil sector, notably an embargo on oil imports from Syria," according to an agreement reached by EU ambassadors. "It's not yet a finalized agreement, but it's as good as if it were," a source from the European bloc told AFP. "The 27 states have tasked the EU with preparing the ban, and on Tuesday we will put the formal resolution on the table," he said.
The resolution adds a new category of people or businesses that can be sanctioned – those who “benefit” from the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Previous sanctions only covered those who supported a government accused of orchestrating a military crackdown that has already left more than 2 dead, activists said. In London, the Foreign Office website quoted Minister Alistair Burt telling BBC radio that the UK preferred sanctions “targeting those who support the regime,” but that London had “agreed to consider” legal changes that would allow for the embargo.
The British government was "procrastinating a bit," said another diplomat, citing pressure from two European oil giants, but EU partners can expect a final green light allowing the ban to be put "into effect in a few days." If implemented, the European Union's embargo on Syrian oil imports will become the toughest sanction ever imposed by the West on Damascus. (Source: Dow Jones)