Syria: New U.N. Resolution, Turkey Drafts Sanctions

Several E.U. powers plan to draft a new U.N. resolution, dropping the immediate calls for sanctions against Syria. Britain, France, Germany, and Portugal are proposing a scaled-back resolution aimed at appeasing the “BRICS” bloc in the U.N., that will threaten future sanctions if President Bashar al-Assad does not stop the violent crackdown against the demonstrators.

Turkey is preparing to draft a list of sanctions on Syria, a shift from their past resistance of imposing sanctions on their Middle Eastern neighbors.  The new sanctions will compliment an arms embargo already in place, as “Turkey is reverting to the U.S. and European line on Syria,” said foreign policy expert Semih Idiz. The decision to impose sanctions comes after Turkey, Syria’s largest trading partner, tried persuading Assad to end the violence. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had a six hour meeting with Assad last month that lead to further tension.

In an effort to preserve their foreign reserves, the Syrian government imposed an import ban, causing a jump in food and consumer goods prices, as well as hoarding by many traders. The ban will affect everything except grain, raw materials, and a few essential goods. Many residents of Damascus have already seen prices jump dramatically since last week, adding to the price increases over the past six months. ”Everyone is complaining about the price rises, people are getting really annoyed,” one resident told Reuters. Many businessmen are criticizing the ban, as a lack of plastic and other raw material imports could lead to manufacturers shutting down. Aleppo’s Chamber of Industry said in a statement “that the import ban would inflict extreme damage on the national economy and undermine the competitiveness of local industry by raising costs.”