European Union agrees to impose new sanctions on Syria

The new sanctions include a ban on the exports of luxury goods to Syria, Press TV reported.

“These sanctions will be put in place against Syria,” said the EU official, whose name was not mentioned in the news report.

The new measures were endorsed ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers scheduled to be held in Luxembourg on Monday.

Another EU official said the extent of the ban has not been defined yet.

The latest sanctions serve as the 14th round of measures taken against Syria by the European Union.

On March 23, the European Union imposed a travel ban on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s wife, mother, sister and sister-in-law, as well as eight entourage members.

Russia strongly criticized the “unacceptable” EU plan a couple of days prior to its endorsement.

On April 20, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said, “Our position concerning such sanctions is well known.”

“We judge them unacceptable from the point of view of international law.”