EU to Syria: No Oil From You

Syria exported 150,000 barrels of oil per day. The EU imported 95% of that. That's a big oil embargo.

On Saturday, the European Union officially implemented an oil embargo and new sanctions against Syria in an effort to deprive President Bashar al-Assad's regime of financial resources. The new policies, which take effect immediately, include a ban on the purchase, import, or transport of Syrian oil. A more complete embargo will be enacted November 15th. The EU did over $10 billion in business with Syria last year and bought 95% of its crude oil, making it by far Assad’s largest trading partner. Russia has condemned the embargo, claiming that unilateral actions will not help (because clearly, bilateral sanctions would be better?). An estimated 2,200 people have been killed in Syria since protests began nearly six months ago.