On 17 June, the sanctions against Syria were expanded, a total of 14 additional people were affected, including the spouse of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Asma Assad, and his sister Bushra Assad, as well as 21 organisations.
The US has imposed new sanctions on Syria’s President Bashar Assad’s son Hafez, three individuals, and 10 entities, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Washington has also sanctioned the First Division of the Syrian Arab Army, according to the Treasury.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said on Twitter that Washington is continuing its campaign to force Assad’s “regime to cease its brutal war against Syrian people”.tal war against Syrian people”.
The statement comes after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said earlier in July that Damascus had already started to implement some measures in an effort to counter the new US sanctions, noting that the country wanted to turn them into “an opportunity to advance the national economy”.
The new US sanctions, issued under the so-called Caesar Act that came into force on 17 June, against President Bashar Assad’s government and its allies have a broad impact on all fields of the country’s economy, including the tourism industry.
The US has been increasing its sanctions policy against Syria for decades and has gradually stepped up the restrictions since the beginning of the civil war in 2011.
In response to the US restrictions, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that the country and its people would resist all American sanctions as stubbornly just as they have resisted terrorism.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
