The United States on Friday called on countries to stop buying Syrian oil and gas in an attempt to build pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to end a brutal crackdown against protesters.
Reuters reported that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hinted the government might be making some headway in persuading countries in Europe, as well as China and India, to curtail their energy ties with Syria.
Speaking at a news conference with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Clinton stopped short of explicitly calling for Assad’s departure, saying, “We urge those countries still buying Syrian oil and gas, those countries still sending Assad weapons, those countries whose political and economic support give him comfort in his brutality, to get on the right side of history.”
She added, “President Assad has lost the legitimacy to lead and it is clear that Syria would be better off without him.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, U.S. officials told Reuters it was the first time Washington had explicitly called for a boycott of Syrian oil since anti-Assad protests erupted in March.
Syria’s crude oil production numbers 380,000 barrels a day and generates most of the country’s hard currency. Reuters reported Syrian crude exports go mostly to European nations such as Germany, Italy and France.
Clinton’s comments come after on Thursday she said the United States wants other nations to add their voices to the call for Assad to step down.
Meanwhile, the violence in Syria continued on Friday, as Syrian forces shot dead 13 protesters following the prayers for the second Friday of the Ramadan.
Tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets of Hama and Deir al-Zor, demanding the overthrow of Assad.
Activists said six people were killed in the Damascus suburbs of Saqba and Douma, two in the commercial hub of Aleppo, and two in the northern province of Idlib on the Turkish border.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)