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SYRIA-CONFLICT-EU-SANCTION
EU extends Syria sanctions by a year
BRUSSELS, May 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The European Union on Monday extended
sanctions against the Syrian government for another year because of the
“ongoing repression of the civilian population”.
A meeting of the 28 EU foreign ministers in Brussels agreed to roll over
sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime until June 1, 2019 and
also updated the bloc’s list of individuals subject to travel bans and asset
freezes.
A total of 259 people and 67 organisations are now under sanction by the
EU.
“Given the ongoing repression of the civilian population, the EU decided
to maintain its restrictive measures against the Syrian regime and its
supporters, in line with the EU strategy on Syria,” the European Council,
which groups the member states, said in a statement.
EU sanctions currently in place against Syria include an oil embargo,
restrictions on certain investments, a freeze of Syrian central bank assets
held in the EU and restrictions on the export of equipment that might be used
for repression.
The EU has been pushing for a resumption of UN-led peace talks in Geneva
as a means to end the Syrian civil war, which has raged since 2011.
BSS/AFP/RY/1945 hrs