USA: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirms the U.S. stance on Syria after Obama calls on Assad to step down and imposes new sanctions

Record ID: 278694

  • Title: USA: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirms the U.S. stance on Syria after Obama calls on Assad to step down and imposes new sanctions
  • Date: 19th August 2011
  • Summary: Since the unrest began, we have imposed strong financial sanctions on Assad and dozens of his cronies. We have sanctioned the Commercial Bank of Syria for supporting the regime's illicit nuclear proliferation activities. And we have led multilateral efforts to isolate the regime, from keeping them off the Human Rights Council, to achieving a strong presidential statement o
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3BZFBOD5I6E4TCXWB87KEW5KD
  • Story Text: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday (August 18) new U.S. sanctions would "tighten the circle of isolation" imposed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government with the aim of removing him from power.
    "The people of Syria deserve a government that respects their dignity, protects their rights and lives up to their aspirations. Assad is standing in their way," Clinton said in remarks following President Barack Obama's direct call on Assad to step down and imposition of new sanctions.
    "For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for him to step aside and leave this transition to the Syrians themselves, and that is what we will continue to work to achieve," she said.
    President Barack Obama on Thursday for the first time called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down after a brutal crackdown by Syrian forces on demonstrations against the Assad family's 41-year reign.
    The president also imposed a fresh round of American sanctions to freeze all Syrian government assets under U.S. jurisdiction and to bar U.S. individuals or companies from transactions with Assad's government.
    The moves are intended to ratchet up pressure on Assad, who has used his military and security forces to attack protesters seeking an end to four decades of authoritarian rule by the Syrian president and his late father, Hafez al-Assad.
    While the United States has previously called for Assad to embark on democratic reforms or to get out of the way, Obama's statement marks the first explicit call for him to go.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register