11 of 12 in Common Market Agree to Sanctions on Syria

Eleven of the 12 European Communities countries agreed Monday to ban arms sales and impose diplomatic sanctions against Syria after reviewing evidence linking the Syrian government to a terrorist plot to blow up an Israeli airliner.

Only Greece refused to join its Common Market partners in condemning Syria, although it indicated later that, in the interest of European unity, it will comply with the steps agreed on by the others.

“No one should be in doubt about our unanimous condemnation of international terrorism and our resolve to curb terrorism in all its forms,” the Common Market governments said in a statement read to reporters by British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe. “We wish to send Syria the clearest possible message that what has happened is absolutely unacceptable.”

After three hours of discussions, the 11 countries agreed to:

--Authorize no new arms sales to Syria.

--Suspend high-level visits to and from Syria.

--Review the activities of Syrian diplomatic and consular missions and apply appropriate measures.

--Review and tighten security precautions surrounding the operations of Syria’s government-owned airline, Syrian Arab Airlines.

In addition to the punitive measures, the Common Market countries called on Syrian officials to “translate into concrete action their stated condemnation of international terrorism.”

“In particular,” Howe said, “we call on them to end all forms of support for those groups which have been clearly involved in terrorist acts and to deny them all facilities. We look to the Syrian authorities for a constructive response.”

The 11 countries also reaffirmed their commitment to support efforts to resolve the Middle East’s political problems, which they see at the heart of the terrorist threat, and bring peace to the region.

Agreement on the measures against Syria came 2 1/2 weeks after Nezar Hindawi, 32, a Jordanian, was convicted by a London jury of plotting to blow up an El Al Israel Airlines jumbo jet on April 17 by placing a bomb in the hand luggage of his unsuspecting, pregnant girlfriend.

During the trial, evidence indicated that Hindawi traveled on a passport ordinarily used by Syrians on official government business, stayed in quarters reserved for Syrian Arab Airlines employees and met with Syria’s ambassador to London, Loutof Allah Haydar. Within hours of the verdict, Britain severed diplomatic relations with Syria.

Largely Symbolic

Despite the tough wording of Monday’s statement, the four measures appeared to have more symbolic than substantive importance.

Aside from French-made Gazelle helicopters and some anti-tank missiles produced by West Germany and France, Syria’s armed forces rely almost exclusively on the Soviet Union for their military hardware.

The West Germans will be forced to scrap plans for a visit to Bonn by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh, but no other high-level diplomatic contacts were imminent. Common Market countries have already tightened surveillance on Syrian diplomatic missions and Syria’s state-owned airline.

British Foreign Office officials were quick to stress the symbolic importance of the measures. They said that the action is certain to embarrass Syria and that the diplomatic impact of the European action is likely to create pressures far greater than the sum of the individual sanctions.

2nd Time in 6 Months

The action marked the second time in six months that the European Communities have imposed sanctions on an Arab country accused of sponsoring terrorist activities.

A series of measures, including an arms embargo and a ban on high-level diplomatic contact, was imposed against Libya last May.

Despite Greece’s refusal to condemn Syria, the Common Market statement constituted a considerable victory, both for Howe personally and for the persistence of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government in pushing for tough measures against countries that assist terrorists.

Two weeks ago in Luxembourg, the Common Market members had refused to act on any of the four measures that were eventually adopted, agreeing only to refuse accreditation to those Syrian diplomats expelled from Britain as a result of the bomb plot.

More Careful Documentation

Before representatives of the 12 countries reconvened here Monday, British diplomats reportedly presented to their European counterparts a far more carefully documented case against Syria.

Britain also lobbied Foreign Ministry officials of the other Common Market nations last week in Vienna, where they were attending the opening of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

To achieve the degree of unity that resulted, British officials were forced to give up wording calling for “tighter restrictions and surveillance” on Syrian missions in favor of less provocative terminology committing member countries to “review the activities of Syrian diplomatic and consular missions . . . and apply appropriate measures.”

Britain also had initially hoped that the other Common Market members would recall their ambassadors from Damascus as a signal of opposition to Syrian action.

Howe Clearly Pleased

But, at a brief news conference, Howe was clearly pleased with the outcome of the meeting.

The agreement came against a backdrop of confused and contradictory reports about the position of French and West German leaders concerning Syria’s involvement in the El Al bomb plot.

According to an interview in the Washington Times, French Premier Jacques Chirac said that West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher believed that the Hindawi plot was a provocation, probably linked to Israeli intelligence, that was designed to embarrass Syria and destabilize President Hafez Assad’s government.

The full text of the interview was reproduced in Monday’s edition of the paper, and copies were flown to Europe and distributed throughout the conference center where the Common Market delegates were meeting.

Not Asked for Clarification

Howe maintained that French External Relations Minister Jean-Bernard Raimond was not asked during the meeting to clarify the comments attributed to Chirac.

“No such explanation was called for or offered because of his willingness to support the (Common Market) statement,” Howe said. “You should have no doubt about the agreed basis of this statement made today.”

Speaking to West German reporters, Genscher denied the views attributed to him and his chancellor, describing them as “pure invention.”

Howe declined to comment directly on news reports by the Los Angeles Times and other publications that the United States has provided military spare parts to Iran in order to gain the release of American hostages held captive by pro-Iranian terrorist groups in Lebanon, but he criticized the action indirectly.

‘Unqualified Opposition’

“We believe we must sustain our unqualified opposition to terrorism and should not engage in bargaining,” he said.

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Theodore G. Pangalos, explaining his government’s position of going along with the sanctions but refusing to blame Syria, said Greece wanted to join its European partners to fight terrorism but did not accept the case against Syria.

“We do not agree with anything that involves Syria in the Hindawi case,” he said. We should not let Syria be condemned or isolated.”

He dismissed the Common Market action as “three symbolic measures that mean nothing, plus a statement on arms sales.”