Japan to host int’l talks on wider Syria sanctions

TOKYO — Japan says it will host international working-level talks in late November on sanctions imposed against Syria.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Monday that participants would be seeking ways to isolate Syrian President Bashar Assad through wider sanctions.

A coalition of 60 countries, including the U.S., the European Union and Arab League, met in September seeking fresh ways to increase pressure on the Assad government. The group was established after the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a resolution condemning the Syrian regime, due to opposition from Russia and China.

Existing sanctions include freezing assets of the Syrian president and military leaders and an embargo on oil and arms trade with Syria.

The uprising last year has escalated to a civil war that activists say has killed 36,000 people.