Wednesday

22nd Mar 2023

UK seeks EU support on arming Syrian rebels

  • Should EU ministers lift sanctions on delivery of weapons to rebels in Syria? (Photo: Travel Aficionado)

Britain's William Hague was almost alone on Monday (18 February) in saying EU countries should give weapons to Syrian rebels.

Coming into a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, he told media: "We have given them [the rebels] strong political and diplomatic support. We have also given them assistance in terms of equipment to save people's lives. But I think there's a broader range of equipment that we can give them."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The EU's arms embargo on Syria expires at the end of the month.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main rebel force, which is currently fighting the Russian-armed regime with home-made weapons, has called for help with anti-aircraft defences to stop jets from bombing civilians.

It has also warned that the status quo is helping better-armed anti-regime jihadists to gain popular support.

An EU diplomat told this website that France, the former colonial power in Syria, has indicated it would back the UK on relaxing the EU arms ban in order to arm the FSA.

Another EU diplomat said: "Britain is not isolated. There is a long way to go in the discussion and no decisions will be taken today."

Several ministers voiced concerns on Monday morning, however.

Belgium's Didier Reynders said: "If we lift the embargo, we have to be sure we can control the distribution of arms … the idea is not to arm the extremists in the country."

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Romania and Spain said the main priority is to find a "political solution" and to ship more humanitarian aid.

Sweden's Carl Bildt said EU arms might block any chance of getting Russia to stop supporting Syria in the UN Security Council. "If we take steps that divide the UN even further that plays, in the short term, into the hands of the regime," he noted.

The Czech republic, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Poland were the strongest sceptics.

"We have to make sure we don't contribute to the further militarisation of Syria," Ireland's Eamonn Gilmore said. "We think that pouring fuel onto the fire is very risky," Poland's Radek Sikorski noted.

For her part, Vesna Pusic, the foreign minister of Croatia, which is set to join the EU in July, predicted: "It seems the current sanctions will be prolonged for three months and then we will discuss the matter again."

Hezbollah

The EU Council is also to see a debate on Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Bulgarian foreign minister, Nikolay Mladenov, will at lunch brief ministers on an investigation into the killing of five Jewish tourists and a local bus driver in Burgas, on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, last year.

Mladenov told press on Monday the attack "was organised by people linked to the military wing of Hezbollah."

He also called for the EU to list the group, or a part of it, as a terrorist entity. "We will want to have collective measures in the EU to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said.

He noted that Bulgarian security services will brief counterparts in EU interior ministries in the coming weeks.

The foreign ministers are not planning to take any decisions on Hezbollah for now.

But EU officials have in the past warned that foreign policy questions, such as whether listing the group might destabilise Lebanon, will be a factor in the Union's decision.

Feature

Back from hell, back from Syria

The West should give the Free Syrian Army food and anti-aircraft defences, one EU parliament official says after visiting the war torn country.

Opinion

How much can we trust Russian opinion polls on the war?

The lack of Russian opposition to the Russo-Ukrainian War is puzzling. The war is going nowhere, Russian casualties are staggering, the economy is in trouble, and living standards are declining, and yet polls indicate that most Russians support the war.

Opinion

Turkey's election — the Erdoğan vs Kılıçdaroğlu showdown

Turkey goes to the polls in May for both a new parliament and new president, after incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decided against a post-earthquake postponement. The parliamentary outcome is easy to predict — the presidential one less so.

Latest News

  1. Sweden worried by EU visa-free deal with Venezuela
  2. Spain denies any responsibility in Melilla migrant deaths
  3. How much can we trust Russian opinion polls on the war?
  4. Banning PFAS 'forever chemicals' may take forever in Brussels
  5. EU Parliament joins court case against Hungary's anti-LGBTI law
  6. Three French MEPs to stay on election-observation blacklist
  7. Turkey's election — the Erdoğan vs Kılıçdaroğlu showdown
  8. When geopolitics trump human rights, we are all losers

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us