12 Oct 2021; MEMO: The European Union yesterday extended sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime for an additional year over the latter's use of chemical weapons against civilians.
In an official statement, the European Council said the sanctions would be placed "until 22 October 2022," adding that they were also imposed on "two Syrian research centres and a Russian chemistry research institute."
The EU sanctions, which were first imposed in 2018, were reported to have also been imposed on officials and government bodies allegedly involved in the Syrian regime's development of chemical weapons and their use against civilians.
All officials placed on the EU sanctions list are banned from travel and their assets within the EU zone have been frozen ever since.
The list was extended last year to include seven new Syrian ministers, bringing the number of sanctioned officials to 280 people, in addition to 70 Syrian institutions and companies.
