BRUSSELS, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Italy said Tuesday it wants to delay a European Union embargo on Syria until its oil contracts expire in November.
A EU meeting on Syria was to resume Wednesday, and some officials said they were optimistic about resolving the dispute, the Financial Times reported. About 95 percent of Syria's oil goes to Europe so an embargo would be a major blow to the regime of President Bashir Assad.
Also Tuesday, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations called Monday for changes in the U.N. draft resolution calling for sanctions against Syria, which he said is "one-sided," RIA Novosti reported. Vitaly Churkin said the document supported by the United States, which stiffed its sanctions Tuesday, and EU members on the Security Council is "totally non-objective and only envisages pressure on the Syrian leadership."
Churkin said the Security Council should adopt a resolution aimed at a "positive" role in the conflict.
In Iran, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said EU reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is supporting Assad are untrue. Ramin Mehmanparast called the EU charges "unfounded," the Iranian Student News Agency reported Monday.
"As we have repeatedly stressed, the Syrian regime and nation enjoy enough political and social maturity and are capable of resolving their own problems," he said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran respects sovereignty of all countries and denies any claim on its interference in Syrian internal affairs."
