The European Union on Mar 23 slapped sanctions on the mother, sister and influential wife of President Bashar Assad, increasing pressure on Syria to halt its bloody crackdown against a year-long uprising. The trio were among 12 Syrians added to a list of figures already hit with EU travel bans and asset freezes, diplomats said. Foreign ministers in Brussels also barred European firms from trading with two Syrian oil companies. “With this new listing we are striking at the heart of the Assad clan, sending out a loud and clear message to Mr. Assad: he should step down,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal.
On the diplomatic front, the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who is leading international efforts to stop the relentless mayhem, planned to travel to Moscow and Beijing this weekend for talks on the crisis, his spokesman said. Russia and China have resisted Western and Arab demands that Assad stand down and have vetoed two UN resolutions highly critical of Damascus. However, they supported a Security Council statement this week calling for peace, in a move that analysts saw as a sign they were adopting a tougher stance on Syria.