Syria Suspends Role in Mediterranean Union over EU Sanctions
Syria has suspended its participation in the Mediterranean Union in retaliation for punitive measures against its regime by European states, state media said on Thursday.
"Syria is suspending its membership in the Mediterranean Union in response to European measures taken against it," said a statement carried by the official SANA news agency.
Syrian state television meanwhile accused the European Union of "taking a series of measures which constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and patent interference in the internal affairs of Syria."
The statement came after EU ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday said they were targeting Syria's energy and financial for new sanctions.
The 43-nation Mediterranean Union, an initiative of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was inaugurated in 2008 to bolster cooperation between Europe, the Middle East and north Africa.
Launched by France and Egypt at a Paris summit, the union groups all 27 European Union member states with countries in North Africa, the Balkans, the Arab world and Israel.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was one of 40 heads of state and government present when the Union was launched amid much fanfare and at the time placed himself firmly at the centre of Middle East peace moves.
However, he has since fallen far from grace and the EU, Arab League and United States have all slapped sanctions on his regime over its fierce crackdown on an eight-month revolt.
At least 4,000 civilians have been killed in the violence, the United Nations said in its most recent toll given on Thursday.
The European ministers said in a statement released at their Brussels meeting that they had decided to implement "further restrictive measures targeting the regime’s ability to conduct its brutal repression."
The sanctions target "the energy, financial, banking and trade sectors and include the listing of additional individuals and entities that are involved in the violence or directly supporting the regime."
Diplomats said the measures include bans on exporting gas and oil industry equipment to Syria, trading Syrian government bonds and selling software that could be used to monitor Internet and telephone communications.
The EU has passed nine rounds of sanctions against Syria, placing 74 people on the list, including Assad, enforcing an arms embargo and banning imports of Syrian crude oil.
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