EU sanctions on Syria to target central bank, gold and phosphates

Feb 8, 2012, 11:28 GMT

Brussels - European Union foreign ministers are expected to approve a new round of sanctions against Syria in two weeks' time, targeting its central bank and exports of phosphates and gold, a diplomat said Wednesday.

The EU was also preparing a meeting with the Arab League and the United Nations, replicating one of the panels set up last year in response to the crisis in Libya, the source said, while at the same time excluding any military option.

'Syria is not Libya,' he said.

Russia and China blocked a critical United Nations Security Council resolution last week, reportedly out of concern that it could give leeway for a military intervention of the type that was mounted in Libya on the basis of another UN resolution.

'The Lybian precedent is on everybody's mind,' the EU diplomat said, adding that India, Brazil and South Africa, as well as some Arab states, had expressed 'reserves' on the issue.

EU diplomats were working to freeze the Syrian Central Bank's assets and to ban EU imports of Syrian phosphates, gold and other precious metals, the source indicated.

'A suspension of these imports would have quite a strong economic effect,' he said.

One EU country was even suggesting a ban on commercial flights to Syria, but the proposal was contentious, the diplomat said, pointing out that it might complicate deliveries of humanitarian assistance.

The new sanctions would likely have an impact 'on the daily economy' of Syria but 'we are left with very little options,' the EU source said, referring to President Bashar al-Assad's defiance in the face of mounting international isolation.

Since March, when the Syrian regime started a bloody crackdown against opposition protesters, the EU has included dozens of Syrian officials - including al-Assad - in a visa ban and asset freeze list, and imposed arms and oil sector embargoes on the country.

The EU is also preparing contingency plans for the evacuation of more than 1,000 Europeans in Syria, and is due to allocate 3 million euros (4 million dollars) in humanitarian aid, another senior source from the bloc said.

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