EU steps up heat on Syrian regime

Oct 10, 2011, 13:47 GMT

Luxembourg - The European Union on Monday stepped up the heat on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, with its top diplomats making overtures to the opposition and signaling that more sanctions were on the way.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg said the launch in October of the Syrian National Council as an opposition umbrella group was 'a positive step forward.'

Ministers said the EU welcomed 'the efforts of the political opposition to establish a united platform. It calls on the international community also to welcome these efforts.'

'We would like to have contacts with the Syrian opposition,' French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe had said before the meeting.

But he downplayed parallels with Libya, whose rebel Transitional National Council was recognized as the official representative of the Libyan people to further pressure leader Moamer Gaddafi.

'We are not at the stage of recognition (in Syria). We have to know them better, better assess what their intentions for the Syria of tomorrow are,' Juppe said, echoing statements also made by Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez.

Italy's Franco Frattini said he thought 'it would be appropriate for a restricted delegation' from the council to talk with EU foreign ministers at their next meeting in Brussels.

On Sunday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem had threatened to take 'tough measures' against any nation that recognized the council, which was officially launched in September in Istanbul.

Al-Moallem did not spell out what the measures would be.

The EU ministers shot back with a warning of their own on Monday, noting the bloc's 'determination' to continue applying sanctions 'until there is an end to the unacceptable violence.'

According to United Nations figures, more than 2,900 people have been killed in Syria as part of a regime crackdown on the protesters calling for President Bashar al-Assad to leave.

The EU has already slapped travel bans and asset freezes on 56 people, blacklisted 18 entities, banned the import of Syrian oil and new European investments in the country's petroleum sector, imposed an arms embargo and blocked the delivery of Syrian currency.

A further round of sanctions - targeting the Commercial Bank of Syria - is in line to be approved later this week, EU diplomats said.

The Europeans, along with the United States, have also led a push to have the United Nations Security Council condemn Syria over its crackdown on anti-regime protesters, a move that was blocked by Russia and China last week.

The ministers said in a joint statement that they were 'deeply disappointed' by the outcome.

'We will continue to press for strong UN action on this,' the EU's top foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton, added.

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