President Obama released a statement this morning calling Syrian authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad to “step aside” and stop blocking the rise of democratic government in Syria. Assad has used lethal force for several weeks to repress the ongoing protests against his regime.

Obama has received harsh criticism for failing to respond sooner to Assad’s crackdown. In today’s statement, the president summarized the various sanctions imposed on Assad by the United States and the European Union leading up to this White House denunciation of Assad: