The White House decision maintains sanctions on Syria until May 2010.
Obama said Syria poses an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national
security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States", Middle East Newsline reported.
Officials said Syria has been used as a way-station by Al Qaida
operatives destined for Iraq. They said Damascus has also failed to impose
restrictions on Hamas and Hizbullah, regarded by the State Department as
terrorist groups.
"This shows you that we still have some very serious concerns about
Syrian behavior and activities in the world," State Department spokesman
Robert Wood said.
Over the last two months, Obama has sent envoys to explore the prospect
of normalization with the Assad regime. The process was said to have
accelerated in April.
"We conveyed President Obama's sincere commitment to pursue Arab-Israeli
peace on all tracks, including on the Syrian-Israeli track," one U.S. envoy,
Jeffrey Feltman, said in Damascus on May 8.
The United States began imposing sanctions on Syria in 2004 in wake of
legislation passed by Congress. The sanctions have prevented the sale of
military and dual-use systems to Damascus.
"I have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect the
national emergency declared with respect to this threat and to maintain in
force the sanctions to address this national emergency," Obama said.
