Baluarte
03-16-2013, 12:21 PM
By VANESSA MOCK, NICHOLAS WINNING and WILLIAM HOROBIN
BRUSSELS—Several European leaders pushed back Friday against a drive by France and U.K. to quickly lift the EU's embargo on supplying arms to Syrian rebels.
Leaders of Austria, Finland and the Netherlands were among those who voiced opposition to lifting the embargo, which expires on June 1, during a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Friday. France indicated this week it would veto an extension of the embargo if the EU doesn't lift it by June.
EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said it would now be up to foreign ministers to try to reach a "common position" during an informal, scheduled gathering on March 22 in Dublin.
"We tasked our foreign ministers to put this issue of Syria and the eventual lifting of the arms embargo as point No. 1 on their agenda and of course to find common ground," Mr. Van Rompuy said.
With divisions running deep, however, the likelihood of a compromise appeared slim, diplomats said.
Numerous countries fear that arming the opposition would open the door to more violence, and could spur Russia and other pro-Assad nations to beef up their support to pro-government forces. Some also fear that weapons could end up with Islamist militants among the rebel ranks.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte pointed to the absence of an organized, coherent opposition movement against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and said supplying arms, could escalate the conflict, "especially if Russia will remain active on the other side."
"Everybody talks about the Syrian opposition, but there is no single Syrian opposition," Mr. Rutte said. "That's why the Netherlands is reluctant to supply weapons to that Syrian opposition."
Austria's Chancellor Werner Faymann said removing the embargo would offer "no solution" for either side, while Finland said the EU's policy had so far been "very sustainable."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would be open to discussing the matter but echoed broader concerns about a potential domino effect across the region, saying it was an "extremely difficult situation."
The U.S., too, has maintained its refusal to deliver arms to Syrian rebels. U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said on Friday that the U.S. was looking at "what more we need to do" to resolve the Syrian conflict but refused to back the push for more active military support for the rebels. "Every day, everyone of us in this room looks at what more we need to do to try and reach specific objectives so the Syrian people can have the peace they want, they deserve," she said at the German Marshall Fund's annual Brussels Forum event.
Ms. Sherman said the U.S. supports efforts by Sheik Moaz al-Khatib, head of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, to hold talks on a political solution to the conflict with elements of the Assad regime.
The EU first put its embargo in place in 2011 as the violence in Syria escalated. It can't be renewed again after June 1 if any one of the bloc's 27 members vetoes its extension. To amend or lift the embargo before that deadline would require unanimous support. The embargo is part of a broader package of sanctions that the EU has in place.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and his French counterpart François Hollande renewed their pleas on Friday to fellow leaders to do more to put a stop to the conflict, which they said had already claimed 70,000 lives and unleashed a major humanitarian crisis.
"I think we have to be frank that what the international community has done so far…hasn't overall worked in terms of stopping this conflict and achieving transition in Syria," Mr. Cameron told reporters after the summit.
Mr. Cameron said Tuesday that Britain would be prepared to act alone with regard to the arms embargo on Syria if it thought its European partners were holding back efforts to bring about political change in the country.
Mr. Hollande referred to the current "asymmetry" in the war, with the Syrian opposition faced with a regime that isn't recognized by Europe, is using Russian supplied weapons against civilians and threatening to use chemical weapons.
"Arms are being delivered by a certain number of countries—clearly including Russia—to Mr. Assad," he said. "I haven't lost hope of convincing members of the EU."
Russia has warned that it would regard any arms shipped to Syrian rebels as a breach of international laws because the militants aren't an internationally recognized state.
Some leaders suggested a middle course could be found if the U.K. and France failed to win over their partners. The Dutch said there might be room to offer additional "technical assistance," though wouldn't elaborate. EU countries amended the arms embargo in February so as to allow for the provision of nonlethal equipment and technical assistance for the protection of civilians.
—Laurence Norman, Maarten van Tartwijk and Tom Fairless contributed to this article
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Even if in a whole lot of areas they're not precisely good, I congratulate Austria and Finland for doing the right thing here.
I didn't know the US was for maintaining the embargo, if anything it shows the Putin-Obama relations are going somewhere, and that America may want to disengage fully from the Syrian adventure.
So all in all, what this note shows is the revolting and treacherous character of the British and French government (the political gutter of Europe as usual). Both act as pawns of Zion, ignore the socioeconomic crisis in their country, and violate international law. What a vermin....
BRUSSELS—Several European leaders pushed back Friday against a drive by France and U.K. to quickly lift the EU's embargo on supplying arms to Syrian rebels.
Leaders of Austria, Finland and the Netherlands were among those who voiced opposition to lifting the embargo, which expires on June 1, during a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Friday. France indicated this week it would veto an extension of the embargo if the EU doesn't lift it by June.
EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said it would now be up to foreign ministers to try to reach a "common position" during an informal, scheduled gathering on March 22 in Dublin.
"We tasked our foreign ministers to put this issue of Syria and the eventual lifting of the arms embargo as point No. 1 on their agenda and of course to find common ground," Mr. Van Rompuy said.
With divisions running deep, however, the likelihood of a compromise appeared slim, diplomats said.
Numerous countries fear that arming the opposition would open the door to more violence, and could spur Russia and other pro-Assad nations to beef up their support to pro-government forces. Some also fear that weapons could end up with Islamist militants among the rebel ranks.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte pointed to the absence of an organized, coherent opposition movement against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and said supplying arms, could escalate the conflict, "especially if Russia will remain active on the other side."
"Everybody talks about the Syrian opposition, but there is no single Syrian opposition," Mr. Rutte said. "That's why the Netherlands is reluctant to supply weapons to that Syrian opposition."
Austria's Chancellor Werner Faymann said removing the embargo would offer "no solution" for either side, while Finland said the EU's policy had so far been "very sustainable."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would be open to discussing the matter but echoed broader concerns about a potential domino effect across the region, saying it was an "extremely difficult situation."
The U.S., too, has maintained its refusal to deliver arms to Syrian rebels. U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said on Friday that the U.S. was looking at "what more we need to do" to resolve the Syrian conflict but refused to back the push for more active military support for the rebels. "Every day, everyone of us in this room looks at what more we need to do to try and reach specific objectives so the Syrian people can have the peace they want, they deserve," she said at the German Marshall Fund's annual Brussels Forum event.
Ms. Sherman said the U.S. supports efforts by Sheik Moaz al-Khatib, head of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, to hold talks on a political solution to the conflict with elements of the Assad regime.
The EU first put its embargo in place in 2011 as the violence in Syria escalated. It can't be renewed again after June 1 if any one of the bloc's 27 members vetoes its extension. To amend or lift the embargo before that deadline would require unanimous support. The embargo is part of a broader package of sanctions that the EU has in place.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and his French counterpart François Hollande renewed their pleas on Friday to fellow leaders to do more to put a stop to the conflict, which they said had already claimed 70,000 lives and unleashed a major humanitarian crisis.
"I think we have to be frank that what the international community has done so far…hasn't overall worked in terms of stopping this conflict and achieving transition in Syria," Mr. Cameron told reporters after the summit.
Mr. Cameron said Tuesday that Britain would be prepared to act alone with regard to the arms embargo on Syria if it thought its European partners were holding back efforts to bring about political change in the country.
Mr. Hollande referred to the current "asymmetry" in the war, with the Syrian opposition faced with a regime that isn't recognized by Europe, is using Russian supplied weapons against civilians and threatening to use chemical weapons.
"Arms are being delivered by a certain number of countries—clearly including Russia—to Mr. Assad," he said. "I haven't lost hope of convincing members of the EU."
Russia has warned that it would regard any arms shipped to Syrian rebels as a breach of international laws because the militants aren't an internationally recognized state.
Some leaders suggested a middle course could be found if the U.K. and France failed to win over their partners. The Dutch said there might be room to offer additional "technical assistance," though wouldn't elaborate. EU countries amended the arms embargo in February so as to allow for the provision of nonlethal equipment and technical assistance for the protection of civilians.
—Laurence Norman, Maarten van Tartwijk and Tom Fairless contributed to this article
---------------------------
Even if in a whole lot of areas they're not precisely good, I congratulate Austria and Finland for doing the right thing here.
I didn't know the US was for maintaining the embargo, if anything it shows the Putin-Obama relations are going somewhere, and that America may want to disengage fully from the Syrian adventure.
So all in all, what this note shows is the revolting and treacherous character of the British and French government (the political gutter of Europe as usual). Both act as pawns of Zion, ignore the socioeconomic crisis in their country, and violate international law. What a vermin....