Western leaders call for Syria's Assad to step down

Western leaders including Obama issue the call as US imposes sanctions on Syria.


Afp/reuters August 18, 2011
Western leaders call for Syria's Assad to step down

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Thursday said it was time for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign, and said the United States was implementing tough new sanctions to help end violence in Syria.

"The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way," Obama said in a statement. "His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing, and slaughtering his own people.”

"For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside."

AFP adds

US imposes sanctions on Syria

The United States has barred trade with five Syrian energy companies as part of broad sanctions to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, the Treasury Department said Thursday.

President Barack Obama has ordered sanctions against General Petroleum Corporation, Syrian Company for Oil Transport, Syrian Gas Company, Syrian Petroleum Company, and Sytrol, the department said in a statement.

EU calls for Assad to step down

The European Union called Thursday for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, saying that his regime had lost all legitimacy and credibility.

"The EU notes the complete loss of Bashar al-Assad's legitimacy in the eyes of the Syrian people and the necessity for him to step aside," foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement, shortly after US President Barack Obama also demanded that Assad quit.

 

COMMENTS (7)

SWolf | 13 years ago | Reply

@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui: No, it's really not. There will be no uprising in the US due to Obama. At least nothing close to what you're thinking. The US and the others aren't even comparable. It's something I always see. Everyone seems to have this automatic belief that life in the US is similar to their own in that part of the world. It's really nothing close. It's not perfect but you certainly don't know much about the reality of it. It goes to show that many times negative shots taken at the US for the most part are just the product of fools and the delusional. You guys really don't seem to have a remote grasp on anything concerning life in the US.

Abdullah | 13 years ago | Reply

hahah..wasnt this the west or moreover israel wanted?.... the started all this in a planned manner.and we point our fingers to their conspiracy they give teh name of conspiracy theory..wow..today they have done it with libya, tomorrow syria and day after will be Pakistan's turn..and we the people of Pakistan will wait for it and will do nothing about it!.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ