Last Friday President Obama renewed the national emergency with respect to Syria. This action allows the current sanctions against Syria to continue for another year. The previous declaration of emergency was scheduled to expire on Sunday. Current sanctions, among other things, prohibit all exports to Syria other than food and medicine.

During Friday’s daily press briefing at the Department of State, acting spokesman Robert Wood explained the President’s logic in renewing the sanctions:

[T]he President felt it was necessary to take these measures. These are not new sanctions, and there is still – I think this shows you that we still have some very serious concerns about Syrian behavior and activity in the world. We’ve said to you before our concerns about what Syria is doing in Iraq, its support for terrorist groups.

When questioned about how to square the extension of the emergency and the attendant sanctions with talks between White House envoy Jeffrey Feltman and the Syrian government currently taking place, Wood had this to say:

We have very serious concerns about Syrian behavior. I think you all understand that very clearly, and those haven’t gone away. But what we’re saying is instead of isolating Syria, we’re willing to engage them.

Syria, for its part, declined to read any special significance into the renewal of the sanctions, describing it as “routine.”

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