كونا : US welcomes EU''s ban of oil imports from Syria - الشؤون السياسية - 04/09/2011

كونا : US welcomes EU''s ban of oil imports from Syria - الشؤون السياسية - 04/09/2011

clipped from article:
US welcomes EU''s ban of oil imports from Syria
Politics 9/4/2011 9:04:00 AM

WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (KUNA) -- The United States welcomed the European Union's decision on Saturday to ban oil imports from Syria affirming that this measure would allow peaceful political transition to begin in the country.
"We welcome the EU decision on September 2 to ban imports of oil and petroleum products, and to sanction additional individuals and entities associated with repression in Syria. These sanctions send a powerful signal to the President Bashar Al-Assad to end the violence and allow a peaceful political transition to begin," said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland in a statement on Sunday.
"Petroleum sales are a key source of revenue and foreign currency for the Al-Assad regime, so this new ban will directly impact the regime's ability to finance its violent crackdown against peaceful protestors," she added.
The European Union banned oil imports from Syria yesterday as part of the increasing pressure on the Syrian government that exports around 150,000 barrels of oil per day with a large portion of that going to EU countries.
Nuland noted that the United States and its international partners "will continue to add political and economic pressure in an effort to force President Assad to step aside and allow the Syrian people to effect a peaceful transition that is democratic and inclusive for all Syrians."(end) jm.wsa KUNA 040904 Sep 11NNNN [ read more at link ]