Hague: Case for EU to arm Syrian rebels ‘compelling’
Foreign Secretary warns Assad regime must join in peace talks
NO options are off the table if Syria’s ruling regime refuses to seriously engage in an international conference to broker peace in the country, Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned.
Mr Hague said the conference between President Bashar Assad’s regime and Syrian opposition leaders should be held as soon as possible, telling MPs it must be focused on agreeing a full transitional body to take over running the country.
He told the House of Commons yesterday that if the regime did not engage seriously, the international community would have to look at other options.
Mr Hague said the case for the European Union to amend its arms embargo, which would allow the international community to arm the rebels, was “compelling”.
The Foreign Secretary said: “We have to be open to every way of strengthening moderates and saving lives rather than the current trajectory of extremism and murder.
“The United Kingdom and France are strongly of the view that changes to the (arms) embargo are not separate from the diplomatic work but essential to it.
“We must make clear that if the regime does not negotiate seriously at the Geneva conference, no option is off the table.
“There remains a serious risk the Assad regime will not negotiate seriously. This is the lesson of the last two years in which the regime has shown it is prepared to countenance any level of loss of life in Syria for as long as it hopes it can win militarily.”
Mr Hague also said it was important to persuade the Syrian opposition to come to the negotiating table, although he recognised how difficult it was for them to enter into talks “with a regime that is butchering thousands of people”.
He added: “All our efforts are directed at ensuring the coming conference in Geneva has the greatest possible chance of success.
“We are entering in the coming weeks into a period of the most diplomacy yet – to bring together permanent members of the UN Security Council to attempt to create real negotiations and to open up the possibility of a political solution.
“With every week that passes, we are coming closer to the collapse of Syria and a regional catastrophe, with the lives of tens of thousands more Syrians at stake. We are determined to make every effort to end the carnage, to minimise the risk to the region and to protect the security of the United Kingdom.”
Mr Hague said there was now physiological evidence from inside Syria that the nerve agent Sarin had been used.
He added: “There is a growing body of limited but persuasive information showing the regime used, and continued to use, chemical weapons.
“Our assessment is chemical weapons use in Syria is very likely to have been by the regime. We have no evidence to date of opposition use. We welcome the United Nations’ investigation, which in our view must cover all credible allegations and have access to all relevant sites in Syria.”
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said yesterday it was crucial for Syrian opposition representatives to take part in a peace conference.
He also reiterated that Iran must be among nations invited to the conference Russia and the United States are trying to organise to seek a resolution to the more than twoyear-old conflict that has killed at least 80,000 people.