European Union foreign ministers on April 16 threatened new sanctions on Syria. The decision comes after Britain and France joined US in airstrikes against Syrian research, storage and military targets.
“The European Union will continue to consider further restrictive measures against Syria as long as the repression continues,” all 28 foreign ministers said in a statement after their talks in Luxembourg, referring to economic sanctions.
As reported by the Reuters news agency, they also endorsed the US, British and French air strikes carried out on April 14 that Western powers said were a response to an April 7 poison gas attack on the rebel enclave of Douma.
“It is very important to stress [the strikes are] not an attempt to change the tide of the war in Syria,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told reporters here.
The EU foreign ministers on April 16 also called on Russia and Iran to use their influence on the Syrian government to prevent further use of chemical weapons.
“The EU calls upon all countries, notably Russia and Iran, to use their influence to prevent any further use of chemical weapons, notably by the Syrian regime,” the EU said in comments to a meeting of the global chemical weapons watchdog, seen by Reuters.
