Britain downplays likelihood of ban on Syrian oil

[August 20, 2011]  LONDON (AP) -- Britain is not urging Europe to join the United States in imposing a ban on Syrian oil in a bid to increase pressure on President Bashar Assad, a government minister said Saturday,

Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said sanctions should target the regime, not ordinary Syrians.

"We have not taken a decision on oil," he told the BBC, adding that sanctions must not "enable a Syrian spokesman to say 'You are damaging the Syrian people.'"

U.S. President Barack Obama this week barred the import of any Syrian petroleum or petroleum products as part of efforts to force Assad to end a military crackdown on protesters.

Rights groups say Assad's forces have killed nearly 2,000 people since mid-March.

Britain, France, Germany and the European Union have all joined Obama in calling for Assad to step down, but with little appetite for military intervention it's unclear how the demand can be enforced.

Syria is not a huge source of oil for the U.S., with most of its crude oil exports going to European countries such as Germany, Italy and France, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

On Friday EU officials said the bloc's 27 member states were considering more economic sanctions against Syria, including an embargo on oil, which could significantly slash the Damascus government's revenues.

"We have been in the vanguard of encouraging the EU to take action against individuals and entities who support the regime in order to avoid the difficulty of taking sanctions against the Syrian people," Burt said.

"Our view is that sanctions must continue to be targeted on those who support the regime and sanctions should be considered on the basis of what will have most effect on changing that situation or improving the situation for the Syrian people."

[Associated Press]

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