Syria says EU criticism of it lacks credibility

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The European Union lacks the credibility to speak about Syria's civil war, Damascus said on Wednesday, following a statement by the bloc's foreign ministers on Monday harshly criticizing the government and its ally Russia for their roles in the conflict. The EU foreign ministers vowed on Monday to impose more sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad's government, saying the bombardment of Aleppo by it and Russia "may amount to war crimes" and that it should be referred to the International Criminal Court. "The European Union lacks the lowest degree of credibility when it talks about the humanitarian situation in Syria because it is, through its support of terrorism, an accomplice in the suffering of Syrians," an official source at the foreign ministry was quoted as saying by Syrian state media. Syria's government characterizes as terrorists all the rebel groups seeking to bring down President Bashar al-Assad, some of which are backed by European countries, the United States, Turkey and Gulf Arab states. Syria's five-and-a-half-year civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced half the country's pre-war population, dragged in regional and global powers and created space for global jihadist movements to plan attacks abroad. (Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)