Foreign ministers of 27 EU states will pass new sanctions against Syria, Iran and Belarus at a two-day meeting in Brussels today, ITAR-TASS reports.
Brussels will demand Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to stop persecution of the opposition and to release all political prisoners. The foreign ministers may condemn Minsk for the executions of Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalev, suspected organizers of the terrorist attack in the Minsk subway on 11 April 2011.
The blacklist of Belarusian officials consisting of 227 names may be expanded. Their bank accounts were frozen.12 more people and 29 organizations may join the list.
The blacklist for Syria may undergo its 13th expansion. It consists of 150 officials, including heads of air companies, the Central Bank and export organizations. 12 more people may be added to the list. Bashar Al-Assad’s wife Asme is included. She was involved in a scandal in the UK for purchasing luxury goods in Europe in the light of continuing violence in Syria.
Maya Kosyanych, press secretary of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, said that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will arrive for the talks on Friday.
18 more Iranian officials are planned to be blacklisted. The list contains 61 people at the moment. The EU plans to pass an embargo on sales of equipment and software for decoding telephone conversations, Internet control and other communication means.
The EU demands Iran renew talks with the US, Russia, China, France, UK and Germany to resolve the nuclear program. Catherine Ashton, supervisor of the mediation process, offered a new round of talks with Tehran in early March. No information on the place and date for the talks has been given since then.
