Europe

Europe

EU ministers expressed readiness to hold talks with Syrian National Council

14 November 2011 17:03 (UTC +04:00)

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, also sought to increase economic pressure on President Bashar al-Assad by approving plans to stop Syria accessing funds from EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB). British Foreign Secretary William Hague said there was a good case for further extending EU measures, which from Tuesday will affect 74 individuals and 19 firms and entities. Eighteen officials were added to the EU’s list of people affected by a travel ban and asset freeze on Monday; their names will be made public on Tuesday.
EU ministers welcomed efforts by the Arab League to end the Syrian crisis and said they would continue to press for United Nations action to bolster international pressure on Assad. The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership and called on its army to stop killing civilians and some Western leaders said this should prompt tougher international action against Assad. The Arab League will also impose economic and political sanctions on Damascus and has appealed to member states to withdraw their ambassadors.
Arab states stopped short of calling for international military action against Assad’s government, and several EU foreign ministers reiterated Western reluctance to get involved in another conflict after a seven-month campaign in Libya that helped anti-government protesters topple Muammar Gaddafi.
"This is a different situation from Libya. There is no United Nations Security Council resolution and Syria is a much more complex situation," Britain’s Hague said.
Addressing anti-government forces, EU ministers said in a statement they were ready to "engage with representative members of the opposition which adhere to non-violence and democratic values such as the Syrian National Council."