The European Union has imposed sanctions on 30 Syrian individuals and firms at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Luxembourg. the sanctions, which include assets freezes and travel bans, were imposed on Monday by the 27-nation group. The new embargos bring to 235 the number of Syrian people and companies blacklisted by the EU since the start of the unrest in the Arab country in March 2011. Western states have been calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. However, Russia and China strongly oppose the Western drive to oust Assad. The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed militants are foreign nationals, mostly from Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.