Norway to support EU sanctions against Syria

Norway will support any future decisions by the European Union to impose new sanctions against Syria, a statement issued by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Anadolu news agency quoted the statement as saying that the crisis afflicting Syria has now turned into a mess, and that the situation in the country is getting worse day after day.

The statement reportedly emphasised that the overall image in Syria requires the international community to cooperate together to find a solution to the crisis, pointing out that it also supports the European Union’s decision to ban 12 Syrian ministers from traveling to its member states, and freezing the assets of certain Syrian companies in Europe.

The statement stressed that Norway supports any European decisions “to deter the Syrian regime”, noting that sanctions in some cases have a significant role in reaching political goals.

The European Union’s Foreign Ministers decided on 23 June to ban the travel of 12 Syrian ministers to European Union countries over their alleged involvement in human rights violations in their country and to freeze the financial assets of 54 Syrian companies and foundations, including the country’s central bank.