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The EU is conducting a review for Syria and Iran “not only to consider whether more sanctions should be taken, but to make sure the enforcement of sanctions is done properly and any abilities to evade them are dealt with,” Catherine Ashton said. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that sanctions against Iran and Syria were harming business interests because they were “increasingly becoming extra-territorial in nature,” the AFP reported, and Russian banks were particularly affected.

According to the AFP, EU sanctions, unlike U.S. measures, are not extra-territorial because they solely affect firms operating in Europe or assets placed within the 27-nation bloc.

Russia has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions to sanction Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. 

“If [Lavrov] criticized the sanctions because they affect the economy, we should also, we Italians, and we Europeans, be the first to criticize the sanctions,” said Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi. 

“The question is not economic interest, the question is the security of our citizens, not only in the neighboring countries, but the security of all Europe in the face of a potential threat from a nuclear armed Iran.”

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Tehran has made no “substantial offer” to reassure the world of its nuclear intentions, according to the AFP. 

The West fears Iran’s uranium enrichment program will be used to build weapons, though the country insists it is seeking to make nuclear fuel for energy or medical reactors, according to the AP. 

Speaking on Syria, Ashton said the EU will offer its full backing to the new U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, who is set to begin mediation in the country, the AP reported. The EU announced it will provide $76 million more in humanitarian aid to Syria. 

Reach Executive Producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.