BICOM

The foreign ministers of the G8 countries will gather in London today, with increasing support for the Syrian opposition high on the agenda.

Representing the world’s eight leading industrialised nations, United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia, the foreign ministers will discuss several issues. Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters yesterday that members of the Syrian National Coalition, the umbrella body of Syrian opposition groups, will be on the sidelines of the G8 meeting and will hold talks with several foreign ministers.

Hague described the two-year long conflict in Syria as “turning into the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of the twenty first century so far, and we cannot watch this happen.” Although humanitarian aid was needed, Hague said that “if the situation continues to deteriorate,” there will be a need “to increase the practical help we give to the Syrian opposition.”

Hague and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius have been pushing to further revise the European Union arms embargo on Syria, which prevents any form of military assistance to either side, after a recent amendment made it easier to provide non-lethal assistance to opposition forces. Hague commented yesterday, “We think that as things stand today there is going to be a very strong case for further amendments to the embargo or the lifting of the embargo.”

However, fears that dangerous groups could profit from military aid to the Syrian opposition were exacerbated yesterday after Al-Qaeda in Iraq announced that it has merged with the Syrian Islamist opposition group Jabhat al-Nusra. Already listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States, Jabhat al-Nusra is thought to have thousands of fighters in Syria on all major frontlines.