EU's fresh sanctions a declaration of sea and air blockade against Syria - Russia
MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry sees the EU Foreign Affairs Council's decision to impose the 17th package of sanctions on Syria as the declaration of a sea and air blockade against that country.
"This package must be examined by experts for its compliance with international law, first of all the EU provisions dealing with "the EU member-states' duty to inspect third countries' aircraft and ships heading to Syria, if the member-states suspect that the cargo transported contains weapons or riot gear," The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary on Wednesday.
"In fact, the measures being taken by the European Union may be qualified as the declaration of a sea and air blockade against Syria. Our position on unilateral sanctions is well known. Russia does not recognize them and sees them as counterproductive, as hampering normalization in Syria and going against the letter and spirit of the UN/LAS envoy Kofi Annan's plan and the Final Communique of the Action Group's Geneva meeting," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
