Manama: Five Kuwaiti lawmakers have demanded that the government suspend all cooperation agreements and loans with Syria.

MP Mussallam Al Barrak, spokesman for the opposition Popular Action bloc, said the bill calls for ending all forms of cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding between Kuwait and Syria.

The bill, which must be passed by the parliament and accepted by the government, also calls for severing relations with Damascus and to stop offering loans to Syria directly or indirectly, Kuwait Times reported on Thursday.

Al Barrak said he would start next month gathering signatures of other MPs to hold an emergency parliamentary session in order to pass the bill. Kuwait’s parliament is currently in summer recess until late October.

In May, half of Kuwait’s 50-seat parliament signed a statement urging the government to sever ties with Damascus and expel the Syrian ambassador.

Kuwait on August 8 recalled its ambassador from Syria “for consultations” but has resisted pressure to expel the Syrian envoy. Fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also summoned their envoys in the Syrian capital.