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Syria takes retaliatory measures after new sanctions

Xinhua, December 2, 2011

• The Syrian government on Thursday suspended its membership in the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM) as well as the Syrian-Turkish free trade agreement, in retaliation to new sanctions of the European Union (EU) and Turkey.

  A Syrian foreign ministry spokesman announced Thursday Syria's boycott to the UFM, a regional alliance consisting of the 27 EU member states and 16 neighbor countries, "until Europe abrogates its sanctions."

  In a statement, the spokesman said "the EU has undertaken a series of unwarranted sanctions that targeted the livelihood of the Syrian people," adding that the sanctions entail a flagrant violation of Syria's national sovereignty and interfere in the country's internal affairs, contrary to the essence of the signed agreements between the EU and Syria.

  The EU decided on Thursday to place further restrictive measures against Syria "in light of the continued repression" in the country.

  The new measures are related to the energy, financial, banking and trade sectors, and include the listing of additional individuals and entities "that are involved in the violence or directly supporting the regime," said a conclusion at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

  Since the EU firstly imposed restrictive measures against Syria on May 9, altogether 74 individuals and 19 entities were placed on the EU sanction list.

  The EU sanctions came in harmony with new U.S. measures. The U. S. Department of Treasury on Thursday added two high-ranking Syrians and two more government-controlled entities for sanctions, in an effort to increase pressure on the Arab nation to stop violence against protesters.

  Muhammad Makhluf, the maternal uncle of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Aus Aslan, a general in the Syrian military and commander within Syria's 4th Armored Division, were accused of offering support for the embattled president.

  The latest round of sanctions coincided with a new United Nations report that put the number of people killed in Syria over the past eight months at "much more" than 4,000.

  The new sanctions also came just one day after the Turkish ones that included an asset freeze of the Syrian government in Turkey, a travel ban on Syrian leaders, a halt of the relations between the Turkish and Syrian central banks, and a block to the delivery of all weapons and military equipment to Syria through Turkey.

  In retaliation, the Syrian government suspended Thursday the free trade agreement with Turkey that came into force in 2007, according to official SANA news agency.

  The Syrian government is considering other measures to commensurate with those announced by the Turkey, said SANA.

  Thursday's sanctions came two days after the Arab League (AL) hit Syria with economic sanctions. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem has recently accused the AL of attempting to internationalize the Syrian crisis, and said the sanctions closed all windows with Syria.

  "If the AL cancels the sanctions, the door may be opened once again for cooperation," he said.

  Syria accuses the West and their Arab allies of supporting armed groups to plunge Syria in chaos with the aim of toppling President Bashar al-Assad's regime and replacing it with an Islamic regime instead.

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