BICOM

The government appears set to renew its efforts to have the European Union (EU) amend the current arms embargo on Syria, in order to pave the way for more direct military support to moderate opposition groups seeking the downfall of President Assad.

According to Reuters, UK diplomats have circulated a discussion paper among European partners ahead of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting which will discuss and vote on the existing sanctions on 27 May. Foreign Minister William Hague has consistently called for lifting or at least changing the current comprehensive EU restrictions which prevents any form of military assistance in Syria, including support for opponents of President Assad’s regime. The new UK proposal apparently suggests two potential changes to the embargo. The first is to fully exempt the opposition coalition from the restrictions and the second is to remove the term “non-lethal” from the language of the current embargo, paving the way to supplying arms.

The UK proposal, supported by France, is likely to attract opposition from several EU member states, including Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands who fear that introducing more weapons into Syria could embolden extremist Islamist elements among the opposition. However, the UK proposal argues that amending the embargo will help “head off any reliance by the moderate Syrian opposition on Islamist-backed armed groups” as well as “ensure we can respond flexibly to a major escalation in the conflict, such as chemical weapons attacks.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron will travel to Russia later this week to meet with President Putin in order to discuss the increasingly uncertain situation in Syria. In a related story, the Wall St Journal reports that Israel warned the United States over the last few days that Russia has agreed to sell Syria advanced anti-aircraft launchers and missiles.