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FSA fighters counting bullets - rebels currently use what they can capture or buy on the black market (Photo: a.anis)

UK and France: only weapons will make al-Assad talk

Britain and France have said the only way to get Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to talk is to threaten him with arming rebels.

The foreign ministers of the EU's top military powers - William Hague and Laurent Fabius - made their case in a joint letter, seen by EUobserver, sent to EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton on 21 March.

They said the EU should exempt the National Coalition, an opposition umbrella group, from its arms embargo on Syria when the ban is reviewed in ...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

FSA fighters counting bullets - rebels currently use what they can capture or buy on the black market (Photo: a.anis)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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