West backs off from sanctions call on Syria
Western powers dropped calls for sanctions against Damascus at the UN Security Council in the face of veto threats from China and Russia, even as existing curbs began to impact Syria's economy.
A new draft resolution drawn up by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal, with US backing, a copy of which was obtained by AFP late Tuesday, threatens to adopt sanctions if the deadly crackdown by Syrian forces on anti-regime protesters does not end.
The formulation was aimed at overcoming opposition from Russia and China, who have threatened to veto any sanctions resolution brought to the council, which has so far only agreed one statement on the crackdown since mid-March.
The European Union has in the past week tightened the screws on President Bashar al-Assad's regime, banning new investments in Syria's oil sector at home and abroad, and prohibiting delivery of bank notes to the central bank.
The latest measures marked a seventh round of EU sanctions on Damascus for its refusal to halt a brutal crackdown on protest in which 2,700 people have already been killed according to the United Nations.
It has also listed 56 Syrians and 18 entities subject to travel bans and asset freezes.
Washington for its part has imposed three sets of punitive measures on Assad and top government officials while President Barack Obama has called on Assad to step down.
The measures are already having an effect, with the Damascus government surprising the world last Thursday by announcing the temporary suspension of imports of products that are subject to tariffs of more than five percent.
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