BICOM

Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed the end of EU arms embargo on Syrian rebels last night after European Union (EU) foreign ministers failed to reach agreement on its renewal, following marathon talks in Brussels yesterday. The UK and France have consistently pushed for the ban to be removed or at least altered in order to allow for the potential supply of weapons to moderate Syrian opposition groups against the Assad regime’s forces, who are receiving support from Russia, Hezbollah and Iran.

The Independent reports that there was significant opposition yesterday to the UK-French proposed embargo changes, in particular from Austria, Finland and the Czech Republic, who argue that the supply of additional weapons will exacerbate Syria’s civil war. With no agreement reached, the current EU embargo will expire on Friday, leaving each member state free to formulate its own policy.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “Tonight EU nations agreed to bring the arms embargo on the Syrian opposition to an end. This was the outcome that the United Kingdom wanted.” However, he was quick to add, “While we have no immediate plans to send arms to Syria, it gives us the flexibility to respond in the future if the situation continues to deteriorate.”

During a meeting with David Cameron last month, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the UK to consider carefully which arms to supply, and to which groups, for fear of dangerous weapons falling into the hands of groups that might use them against Israel.

All other EU measures and sanctions against the Assad regime will remain in place, such as asset freezes and travel bans on senior Syrian officials, as well as curbs on trade, infrastructure projects and the transport sector. It is also understood that no potential arms shipments to Syria will take place before August, when EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is set to report on the planned US-Russia sponsored talks between the Syrian government and opposition leaders.