France: time to review ending arms embargo on Syrian rebels

Two days after recognizing new Syrian opposition group, France said it would float giving rebels defensive weapons. But even with the French push, such arms shipments look far from imminent.

By Arthur Bright,?Staff writer / November 15, 2012

Top row, left to right, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius attend the joint Arab League-European foreign ministers' meeting on Syria, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo November 13, 2012.

Asmaa Waguih/REUTERS

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Europe Editor

Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor.? He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog.? He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney.

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Just two days after becoming the first nation to recognize Syria's new opposition group, the French government has said it will begin discussions with its partners in Europe to end the European Union's embargo against arming the rebels. But while France appears willing to step up its involvement in the Syrian civil war, its Western allies, including the United States, still seem cool to the idea.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Europe's RTL radio today that while France is wary of escalating the Syrian conflict, it does not want rebel-controlled regions to fall for lack of self-defense, reports Agence France-Presse.

"For the moment, there is an embargo, so there are no arms being delivered from the European side. The issue ... will no doubt be raised for defensive arms," he told RTL radio.

"The issue will be raised because the (opposition) coalition has asked us to do so," he said, adding that "this is something that we can only do in coordination with the Europeans."

"France's position for the moment is to say that we must not militarise the conflict, but it is evidently unacceptable that there are liberated zones and that they be bombarded by Bashar's planes."

Mr. Fabius's comments come amid a strong showing of support from France for the Syrian rebels. France announced Tuesday that it would recognize the new Syrian opposition group ? formed over the weekend to unite the disparate rebel and exile groups under a single organization ? as the Syrian people's sole representative. And French President Fran?ois Hollande, who like Mr. Fabius also said recently that the question of arming the rebels would now "have to be necessarily reviewed," is set to meet with the group's leader, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, in Paris on Saturday, according to a second AFP report.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/gE8c6UB3opk/France-time-to-review-ending-arms-embargo-on-Syrian-rebels

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