'Syria to protect oil resources at any cost'

Damascus, April 25 (IANS) The Syrian government said Thursday it would take the required steps to safeguard the country's oil resources.

The Oil ministry would take all the necessary measures to protect the country's oil resources, following the recent EU's decision to buy oil from the Syrian opposition in rebel-held areas in Syria, reported Xinhua citing Syrian Oil Minister Slaiman Abbas.

He stressed the ministry was the only party authorised to invest in the Syrian oil, adding that it would undertake all necessary measures to preserve the oil resources in the face of the attempts of piracy and looting.

Abbas said the oil wells were going to be fully monitored, adding that any illegal activity would be immediately reported to the competent authorities for immediate handling with "all possible means".

While calling on all workers in the oil fields in Syria to shoulder their responsibilities to protect the country's resources, the minister stressed the foreign companies in Syria must pressure their governments not to apply the "illegal" EU's decision which runs counter to the charters of the international law.