Brussels, 08/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - After an embargo on Syrian crude oil imports (see EUROPE 10444), the EU is preparing to step up its restrictive measures against Syria by banning any form of investment in the Syrian oil sector. A new package of measures is thus on the discussion table in Brussels and could also include new entities whose assets could be frozen. The decision is expected early next week before the United Nations General Assembly opens. This is aimed to send a powerful signal to the international community and thus encourage Security Council members to adopt a resolution that would include major sanctions against companies closely linked to the Damascus regime. It would also directly target the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
Two draft resolutions, however, are currently being negotiated at the Security Council. A first draft was proposed by Russia which, while condemning the violent crackdown on the civilian population, is more cautious when it comes to sanctions. It also refuses to include anything that might be perceived by the authorities in Damascus as a threat. The recent case of Libya and NATO's intervention there is considered by the Russians as an error of strategy that should never be repeated.
The second draft is put forward by France and seeks to be more severe, although details of the resolution have not yet been disclosed. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé expressed, on Wednesday 7 September, the impatience felt by European states and the United States regarding the repression that causes more victims among the civilian population with every passing day. He said the Syrian regime is guilty of crimes against humanity, AFP reports.
These accusations of unprecedented gravity were, moreover, made in Moscow after a meeting of the French minister and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov - a symbol that but reflects the battle currently waging within the international community in its attempt to find a common stance regarding the most unacceptable acts committed by the Bashar al-Assad regime. (J.K./transl.jl)