France and Britain willing to arm Syrian rebels
DAMASCUS, March 15, 2013 (AFP) France has joined Britain in voicing its willingness to supply weapons to Syria's rebels if it cannot convince its European partners to lift an arms embargo as the conflict enters its third year.
“Our goal is to convince our partners at the end of May, and if possible before.... If by chance there is a blockage by one or two countries, then France will take its responsibilities,” President Francois Hollande said Thursday after talks on the first day of an European Union summit in Brussels.
“Political solutions have now failed (in Syria), despite every pressure,” Hollande said, on the eve of Friday's second anniversary of the start of the bloody conflict between the Syrian regime and the rebels seeking to topple it.
The United Nations says at least 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising erupted in midMarch 2011.
The United Nations says at least 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising erupted in mid-March 2011
“We must go further because for two years there has been a clear willingness by (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad to use every means to hit at his own people,” he added.
France said earlier that Paris and London were pushing for the EU to drop the arms ban -- a move opposed by some European governments, who fear a flood of weapons into Syria will only escalate the conflict.