EU diplomat: Embargo on Syrian oil possible next week

European Union governments are likely to adopt an embargo against imports of Syrian oil by the end of next week, as they move to ratchet up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, an EU diplomat said on Wednesday.

The bloc's 27 governments agreed last Friday to explore new sanctions against Assad in response to his five-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, in which the United Nations says 2,200 civilians have been killed.(Reuters)