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EU ministers of foreign affairs decided last night that from June 1, member states will be allowed to supply Syrian rebels with weapons, which will be delivered under strict conditions. The decision has been announced in the runup to a planned peace conference next month in Geneva.
Once the arms embargo has been lifted, European countries will be able to support the rebels in their fight against President Assad. However, the decision, made after almost twelve hours of deliberation, doesn’t imply that the EU countries will start delivering weapons immediately, emphasized the British minister of Foreign Affairs William Hague. The purpose of the resolution is to “force the regime to the negotiation table.”
The Netherlands and several other countries refused to support the decision to ship weapons to an “unstable region”. However faced with “British and French insistence on a relaxation of sanctions, Germany and the Netherlands were obliged to seek a compromise,” writes De Volkskrant. Only the weapons embargo will be lifted, other sanctions – such as punitive economic measures – will remain in force.
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