Increasing pressure on the Syrian regime
Foreign Secretary William Hague speaks after new sanctions on the Syrian regime were agreed in Brussels.
Following the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, the Foreign Secretary said:
鈥淚 welcome the EU鈥檚 decision today to apply further pressure on President Assad鈥檚 regime, following the strong measures announced by the Arab League this weekend. The EU has listed a further 18 individuals involved in or supporting the regime鈥檚 activities, including military, security and intelligence officials leading military operations in Syria. In addition, the EU has moved to prevent any further disbursement of loans from the European Investment Bank to Syria.
鈥淧resident Assad has ignored countless calls by the international community to put an end to the horrific violence in Syria. Since the Syrian regime鈥檚 claim to have agreed to the plan put forward by the Arab League on 2 November, violence has only escalated with a death toll of over 3,500 people since March. As long as the violence continues, we will continue to press the Syrian regime to bring an end to this killing鈥�.