The "Friends of Syria" group will meet in the Netherlands next week to broaden the scope of sanctions and sharpen specific measures against the Syrian regime, AFP reported Monday.

The "Friends of Syria" group will meet in the Netherlands next week to broaden the scope of sanctions and sharpen specific measures against the Syrian regime, AFP reported Monday.

According to the news agency, the Dutch Foreign Ministry stated that "the September 20 meeting comes after the European Union agreed Saturday on the need to beef up sanctions against President Bashar Assad's inner circle."

"The meeting aims to adopt sanctions against Bashar Assad's regime by a growing number of countries," the statement said, indicating that "the application of such measures in the financial sector will be one of the main topics of discussion."

Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal will open the meeting which will be attended by "around 50 to 60 nations, including Syria's neighbours and Arab League representatives, the statement added.

"Sanctions, on top of humanitarian aid and support for the opposition, are an essential means to end the violence in Syria and allow for the start of a political process," it further said.

For his part, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Saturday at EU talks in Cyprus that "if we want things to move, we must reinforce sanctions against the clan of Bashar Assad."

His Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo said there was "a general feeling that more pressure must be placed on the regime in order to end the violence and enable the distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the country.