On Monday 29 May, the Council extended the EU's restrictive measures against the Syrian regime until 1 June 2018.
The Council also decided to add three Syrian ministers to the list of people sanctioned – the minister for justice, Hisham Mohammad Mamdouh al-Sha’ar, the minister for external trade and the economy, Samer Abdelrahman al-Khalil, and the minister for administrative development, Salam Mohammad al-Saffaf – all three of whom took up office in the spring. With these sanctions, 240 people and 67 entities are now subject to a visa ban and assets freeze, in view of the violent crackdown against the civil population.
The measures against Syria also include an oil embargo, restrictions on certain investments, a freeze on Syrian Central Bank assets in the EU, and restrictions on exporting equipment and technology likely to be used for a domestic crackdown or for monitoring or intercepting internet or telephone communications.
Elsewhere, the heads of state or government of the G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada, Japan and the USA) said in their declaration of 27 May that no effort should be spared in bringing the conflict to an end, and they called on those who have an influence on the Syrian regime, especially Russia and Iran, to use this to stop the tragedy. They also expressed their determination to step up their efforts to defeat international terrorism in Syria. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)