The European Union has decided to lift its embargo against arming Syrian rebels, but member states will be allowed to decide for themselves what policies to adopt.
After 12 hours of talks in Brussels, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the deal to lift the arms embargo against the rebels, while maintaining the remainder of a far-reaching two-year package of sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Without such a deal, the entire set of sanctions, including an assets freeze on Assad and his cronies, would have lapsed at midnight on Friday.
Nations were divided on the arms embargo, with Britain and France pushing for it to be lifted, while other states – including Ireland – remained opposed to arming the Syrian rebels fearing that it could escalate the conflict.
