Damascus has strongly condemned the decision by the Council of the European Union (EU) to extend unilaterally imposed restrictive measures against Syria for another year.
In its decision issued last Thursday, the council extended its sanctions it has imposed on Syria since 2011, which are aimed at pressuring the Syrian government and people into changing their position.
The decision reveals unequivocally that the EU is “complicit in the conspiracy against Syria”, an official source at Syria’s Foreign Ministry told SANA on Sunday.
This complicity is evident in some EU member states’ support for terrorist groups through the providing of armaments, the source said.
Other evidence of this complicity, he added, includes attempts by those states to frustrate the initiatives and efforts seeking a settlement to the crisis in Syria.
The source dismissed the council’s measures as “unfair”, saying they directly target the Syrian people in their livelihood and health.
The European sanctions cover almost every vital sector in Syria, including health, oil, electricity and food, further aggravating the suffering of the Syrian people.
The source appealed to “the free voices” within the union “which have openly expressed their annoyance at the approach, which France and Britain impose on other member states by implicating them in policies that are against the EU’s interests”.
