Japan hosts int’l meeting on Syria sanctions end of november

The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced here on Wednesday that Japan will host a working-level international conference on November 30, as a part of efforts by the international community toward stopping the violence in Syria. The discussion of the meeting in Tokyo, the 5th of its kind, will focus on improving the effectiveness of the sanctions implemented by the like-minded countries, including Japan and Western countries, and on broadening the horizon of countries participating in the sanctions, the ministry said in a statement. Primarily comprising the so-called Friends of Syria group, officers on the working level are expected to participate from relevant countries and organizations. The meeting will be held in Asia for the first time. Japan strongly hopes that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime will respond promptly to the call by the international community including to stop the violence against its own people, the ministry said. The Friends of Syria Group has organized similar meetings four times, with the latest held in the Netherlands in September, where more than 60 countries participated.