The European Union added seven ministers in the Syrian government to the list of sanctions that include individuals and organizations subject to restrictive measures against the Damascus regime and its supporters.
The list now includes 277 people, who are subject to a travel ban and asset freeze, for their responsibility for violent repression of the Syrian civilian population, for benefiting from the support of the regime or for their association with the regime in one form or another.
The EU has also frozen the assets of some 72 entities.
The sanctions also include an embargo on Syrian oil, restrictions on trade and investment, the freezing of assets of the Central Bank of Syria within the EU, restrictions on the export of weapons and equipment that can be used in internal repression, as well as equipment and technology that can be used to monitor or intercept telephone and Internet communications.
The EU is reviewing the sanctions imposed on the regime and its associates on an annual basis since December 2011. The next review will take place in June this year.
In a statement, the EU said the seven new people on the list were Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khaled Rahmoun, Tourism Minister Mohammad Rami Radwan Martini, Education Minister Imad Muwaffaq al-Azab, Higher Education Minister Bassam Bashir Ibrahim, Public Works and Housing Minister Suhail Mohammad Abdel-Latif, Communications and Technology Minister Iyad Mohammad al-Khatib and Industry Minister Mohammad Maen Zine al-Abidine Jazba.
The European Union remains committed to working towards a sustainable political solution to the conflict in Syria, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254 and the Geneva Declaration of 2012, said a European statement in Brussels on Monday.
