EU passes new Syria sanctions

As Syria awaits the results of a referendum on a new constitution, which Western powers have labeled a 'farce,' EU foreign ministers imposed a new catalogue of sanctions against the Syrian government and some of its top officials.

The restrictions include a ban on entering the European Union, which will affect seven cabinet ministers of the Assad regime, adding to a list of 108 people already on a previous list. The sanctions also freeze assets in the EU belonging to the Syrian National Bank and ban all air cargo traffic to Syria from Europe.

Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal told reporters that the EU may also consider a "peacekeeping mission" to the violence-wracked country.

The new sanctions are on top of EU restrictions imposed earlier that ban the import of Syrian oil, or any investment in Syria's oil and natural gas sector.

The EU ministers also plan to announce a renewed call for the resignation of President Assad.

Despite the Syrian government's ongoing violent crackdown on protesters, the regime held a referendum on a new constitution which would, among other things, end the monopoly of the ruling Baath party in national politics.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called the referendum a "farce."

"A bogus ballot is not a contribution to resolving the crisis," the minister said in a statement from Berlin.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Sunday's poll "a cynical ploy" and urged Syrians who still support Assad to turn against him.

Russia and China, which both have been severely criticized for vetoing two UN Security Council resolutions condemning Syria, lashed out at Western powers on Sunday, calling their standpoints on the Assad regime "cynical" and "unacceptable," respectively.

gb/acb (dpa, AP)