Brussels, 11/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - British Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking in parliament in London on 10 January, hinted at the possibility of arming the moderate forces of the Syrian opposition. He told MPs that he intended to ask for the European arms embargo on Syria to be lifted, at the time when the EU sanctions are due be revised before 1 March.
“We must keep open options to help save lives in Syria and to assist opposition groups opposed to extremism if the violence continues. We should send a strong signal to Assad that all options are on the table. We will therefore seek to amend the EU sanctions so that the possibility of additional assistance is not closed off”, he said. Nevertheless, he stressed that the best solution is for a diplomatic breakthrough which would bring an end to the violence and establish a new Syrian government able to restore stability.
London will try to find consensus on this issue but European governments are divided. During the review of sanctions in December, the United Kingdom - supported by France - obtained that sanctions only be extended for three months, and not by 12 months as initially envisaged (see EUROPE 10740 and 10741). “European countries now have the flexibility to consider taking additional steps to try to save lives if there is no progress in the near future”, Hague said. In his opinion it is important not to freeze EU policy for a whole year just as a new opposition coalition is being launched and the conflict is intensifying.
In a statement published on the CNN website on 10 January, four European foreign affairs ministers - Michael Spindelegger (Austria), Karl Erjavec (Slovenia), Eamon Gilmore (Ireland) and Villy Sovndal (Denmark) - themselves called on the United Nations Security Council to speak about the International Criminal Court (ICC) (see EUROPE 10749 on conclusions of Foreign Affairs Council on 10 December). This court referral would give the Syrian opposition leaders a strong argument to call for discipline among its various forces and would give the members of the Assad regime an additional reason to question their allegiance. The four ministers also believe that this could contribute to the search for a political solution to the conflict. According to Le Monde, over 50 states are expected to call on the Security Council on Monday for Syria to be referred to the ICC. (CG/transl.fl)