EU lifts sanctions on Syria oil exports from rebel-held areas – World Tribune: Window on the Real World

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LONDON — The European Union has lifted its energy embargo on Syria.

Syrian opposition gained control of more than 70 percent of the country’s oil wells in Northeastern sides of the country. /Al Arabiya — Syrian rebels are said to have gained control of more than 70 percent of the oil wells in northeastern sides of the country. /Al Arabiya

Officials said the EU move was meant to relay aid to Sunni rebels who
have been fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. They said
the EU would allow Syrian crude oil exports from areas held by rebels
supported by NATO and Arab allies.

“The security situation is so difficult that much of this will be
difficult to do, but it is important for us to send the signal that we are
open to helping in other ways, in all the ways possible,” British Foreign
Secretary William Hague said on April 22.

Until the Syrian civil war in 2011, Damascus had been exporting up to
200,000 barrels of crude per day to EU states.

Officials said the EU did not know how much crude could be exported from Syria amid the war.

Bashar Assad, EU lifts sanctions on Syria oil exports from rebel-held areas, NATO, Sunni rebels, William Hague

EU lifts sanctions on Syria oil exports from rebel-held areas added by World Tribune on April 24, 2013
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