EU Imposes Sanctions On Syria’s Assad, Iran, Belarus, Libya

“The repression in Syria continues,” said U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague as he went into the talks with his counterparts, according to an AFP report. “It is important to see the right to peaceful protest, the release of political prisoners and taking the path of reform, not repression, in Syria over the coming days.”

It is the first time the EU has sanctioned Assad, and the announcement (pdf) said nine others joined him on an expanded blacklist of Syria, with their names to be released Tuesday in the Official Journal.

“The government needs to understand that people are asking by peaceful protests for the kind of reforms that the government had said they’d be interested in and they now ought to try and engage properly and do that,” said Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, in remarks (pdf) upon arriving at the meeting in Brussels. “And they should do it now because there are so many people who have died and been injured. It’s a terrible tragedy.”

Also on the agenda at this meeting were expanded sanctions against Iran, Libya and Belarus. On Iran, the ministers agreed to new sanctions (pdf) on a list believed to be of 100 entities that diplomats said were tied the the Tehran nuclear program. The list of the entities, along with the name of an individual receiving a travel ban, will be published in Tuesday’s Official Journal.

The U.S. approved of the measures against Iran in a statement.

“So long as Iran refuses to fulfill its international obligations, the international community will respond by continuing to hold Iran accountable, implement fully all U.N. Security Council resolutions, and aggressively counter Iranian proliferation activities,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney in the statement.

On Libya, the EU ministers agreed (pdf) to add an additional individual and an entity to its asset freeze and travel ban blacklist. The ministers, according to the AFP report, are trying to come up with a way to get the Libyan military to retreat in order to foster a dialogue between the rebels and the leader, Moammar Gadhafi.

“Member states currently are less united in the belief that Gadhafi must go before a ceasefire or political talks can begin,” said an unnamed diplomat quoted by AFP. “But the rebel leadership will not budge on this point.”

Finally, the EU ministers agreed, in a measure opposed by Russia, to sanction 13 more Belorussian individuals (pdf) in the wake of the sentencing of an opposition presidential candidate and other members of society. Those names will also be published in Tuesday’s Official Journal.