Syria hits out at Arab League suspension

Syria’s foreign minister has hit out at an Arab League vote to suspend his country’s membership, saying it was an illegitimate decision prompted by American incitement.

Walid al-Moallem added at a press conference in Damascus today that all conspiracies against Syria were bound to fail.

Mr Al-Moallem reiterated an invitation for Arab League officials to visit Syria this week, accompanied by any military and civilian observers they deem appropriate to oversee implementation of an Arab League plan for ending the bloodshed.

The 22-member bloc voted at a Saturday meeting in its Cairo headquarters to suspend Syria’s membership.

Meanwhile EU foreign ministers agreed to impose additional sanctions on 18 Syrian people and groups in response to the killings of protesters.

The names of those sanctioned will not be known until they are published in the EU’s official journal in a day or two. Sanctions generally include visa and travel bans for regime members, freezing assets, and prohibitions on trade.

The EU had already placed sanctions on 56 Syrian individuals and 19 organisations in its effort to get President Bashar Assad to halt his bloody crackdown.

Jordan's King Abdullah said that Assad should step down.

The king added that the Syrian leader should initiate political dialogue and make sure that his successor “has the ability to change the status quo.”

He told the BBC that “If I were in (Assad’s) shoes, I would step down.”

Jordan has been critical of Syria’s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in recent months.