This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/world/middleeast/decision-to-end-syrian-arms-embargo-angers-russia.html
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Europeans Say Lifting Syria Arms Embargo Puts Pressure on Russia | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| PARIS — The European Union’s decision to lift its arms embargo on Syria, after a bitter, 13-hour debate in Brussels, is intended to put pressure on Russia and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria before peace talks scheduled in Geneva next month, with a message that the West will not allow the rebels to be defeated, senior European diplomats said Tuesday. | PARIS — The European Union’s decision to lift its arms embargo on Syria, after a bitter, 13-hour debate in Brussels, is intended to put pressure on Russia and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria before peace talks scheduled in Geneva next month, with a message that the West will not allow the rebels to be defeated, senior European diplomats said Tuesday. |
| The decision is also intended to boost the more Western-aligned opposition and break the perception that it is being abandoned, while the radical Islamists of Al Nusra Front and its allies continue to get support from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the diplomats said. | The decision is also intended to boost the more Western-aligned opposition and break the perception that it is being abandoned, while the radical Islamists of Al Nusra Front and its allies continue to get support from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the diplomats said. |
| The idea is “to change the perception of Assad that he now has time on his side, with more support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah,” a senior European diplomat said. | The idea is “to change the perception of Assad that he now has time on his side, with more support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah,” a senior European diplomat said. |
| The decision to let the arms embargo lapse appears to be part of a broader effort by the pro-Assad and pro-rebel sides to enter the talks in Geneva next month with a stronger hand. | The decision to let the arms embargo lapse appears to be part of a broader effort by the pro-Assad and pro-rebel sides to enter the talks in Geneva next month with a stronger hand. |
| The West had calculated that rebel pressure on Mr. Assad would be so great he would enter negotiations from a position of weakness. But in recent weeks, Mr. Assad’s standing has at least temporarily been shored up. That may have figured into the European decision. | The West had calculated that rebel pressure on Mr. Assad would be so great he would enter negotiations from a position of weakness. But in recent weeks, Mr. Assad’s standing has at least temporarily been shored up. That may have figured into the European decision. |
| “Geneva will be hard enough, but without lifting the arms embargo, it would be nothing at all,” another senior European diplomat said, speaking anonymously in accord with diplomatic protocol. | “Geneva will be hard enough, but without lifting the arms embargo, it would be nothing at all,” another senior European diplomat said, speaking anonymously in accord with diplomatic protocol. |
| Britain and France were the prime movers in strong-arming other European Union countries to let the arms embargo on Syria lapse, while other of the union’s sanctions, aimed more specifically at the Assad government, were renewed. | Britain and France were the prime movers in strong-arming other European Union countries to let the arms embargo on Syria lapse, while other of the union’s sanctions, aimed more specifically at the Assad government, were renewed. |
| Part of the debate in the long meeting, which ended late Monday night, was to promise that neither Britain nor France would begin to deliver any arms, if they chose to do so, until the beginning of August, to allow the Geneva peace process to get traction, the officials explained. | Part of the debate in the long meeting, which ended late Monday night, was to promise that neither Britain nor France would begin to deliver any arms, if they chose to do so, until the beginning of August, to allow the Geneva peace process to get traction, the officials explained. |
| Officials of Britain and France, which have Europe’s most advanced militaries and are members of the United Nations Security Council, argued that the arms embargo was so strict that it applied to many kinds of so-called nonlethal supplies, from gas masks to secure communication devices. They also argued that lifting it will allow more flexibility in supplies and will mean that less will have to be supplied covertly. | Officials of Britain and France, which have Europe’s most advanced militaries and are members of the United Nations Security Council, argued that the arms embargo was so strict that it applied to many kinds of so-called nonlethal supplies, from gas masks to secure communication devices. They also argued that lifting it will allow more flexibility in supplies and will mean that less will have to be supplied covertly. |
| “This is a way to try to balance the Russian game and make it clear that the Europeans want to play ball around Geneva, but have this option open,” said Camille Grand, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. “The message to both Assad and Moscow is that, ‘You’re not winning on all fronts, and we have a plan B that would make your military successes more difficult, that we can also play the protracted war scenario.’ ” | “This is a way to try to balance the Russian game and make it clear that the Europeans want to play ball around Geneva, but have this option open,” said Camille Grand, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. “The message to both Assad and Moscow is that, ‘You’re not winning on all fronts, and we have a plan B that would make your military successes more difficult, that we can also play the protracted war scenario.’ ” |
| The jockeying, however, may scuttle the long-shot peace talks even before they get off the ground. Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia said that the European Union decision was “illegitimate in principle.” | The jockeying, however, may scuttle the long-shot peace talks even before they get off the ground. Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia said that the European Union decision was “illegitimate in principle.” |
| “A number of actions that are being taken — and they are not being taken without the involvement and support of our Western partners, including the U.S. and France — intentionally or unintentionally serve to disrupt the conference,” Mr. Lavrov said according to the Interfax news service. | “A number of actions that are being taken — and they are not being taken without the involvement and support of our Western partners, including the U.S. and France — intentionally or unintentionally serve to disrupt the conference,” Mr. Lavrov said according to the Interfax news service. |
| The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, in a statement called the European Union decision “a reflection of ‘double standards.’ ” Later, he said, “You cannot declare the wish to stop the bloodshed, on one hand, and continue to pump armaments into Syria,” according to the Interfax news service. | The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, in a statement called the European Union decision “a reflection of ‘double standards.’ ” Later, he said, “You cannot declare the wish to stop the bloodshed, on one hand, and continue to pump armaments into Syria,” according to the Interfax news service. |
| A senior European official, told of the comment, said that Russia, which has itself been pumping arms into Syria, might “take its own words to heart.” | A senior European official, told of the comment, said that Russia, which has itself been pumping arms into Syria, might “take its own words to heart.” |
| Mr. Ryabkov, who has been seen as collegial to Western diplomats in the nuclear talks with Iran, insisted that Russia, by contrast, was selling arms to “legitimate authorities,” not supplying rebels. He defended a plan to provide Syria with advanced S-300 air defense missiles, saying that they would be a “stabilizing factor” that could deter a Western-led intervention. | Mr. Ryabkov, who has been seen as collegial to Western diplomats in the nuclear talks with Iran, insisted that Russia, by contrast, was selling arms to “legitimate authorities,” not supplying rebels. He defended a plan to provide Syria with advanced S-300 air defense missiles, saying that they would be a “stabilizing factor” that could deter a Western-led intervention. |
| Russia, on the request of the United States, Europeans and Israel, has not yet delivered those missiles to Syria. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon of Israel said Tuesday that if the S-300s “arrive in Syria, we will know what to do,” suggesting that would again threaten an escalation with another Israeli strike. Previously, Israel has said it will act in Syria only to prevent sophisticated weaponry from going to Hezbollah or Iran. | Russia, on the request of the United States, Europeans and Israel, has not yet delivered those missiles to Syria. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon of Israel said Tuesday that if the S-300s “arrive in Syria, we will know what to do,” suggesting that would again threaten an escalation with another Israeli strike. Previously, Israel has said it will act in Syria only to prevent sophisticated weaponry from going to Hezbollah or Iran. |
| The Syrian opposition, meeting in Istanbul for six days, has been deeply divided and has not yet decided whether to take part in the Geneva talks, as Washington has requested. And the opposition has complained that the arms needed most — surface-to-air missiles to hit government aircraft — have been denied them by the United States and its allies, who fear their eventual use against Israel or Jordan. It is also unlikely that Britain or France would supply such weapons now or later. | The Syrian opposition, meeting in Istanbul for six days, has been deeply divided and has not yet decided whether to take part in the Geneva talks, as Washington has requested. And the opposition has complained that the arms needed most — surface-to-air missiles to hit government aircraft — have been denied them by the United States and its allies, who fear their eventual use against Israel or Jordan. It is also unlikely that Britain or France would supply such weapons now or later. |
| Even as Europe lifted the embargo, it is increasingly hard to deliver weapons only to Western-friendly forces who say they favor a democratic Syria that protects minorities, as opposed to the radical Islamists, critics have argued. | Even as Europe lifted the embargo, it is increasingly hard to deliver weapons only to Western-friendly forces who say they favor a democratic Syria that protects minorities, as opposed to the radical Islamists, critics have argued. |
| “Given that the balance in the rebellion may have already shifted to the most radical groups, I see the decision as more of a bargaining tool with the Russians,” said Mr. Grand of the Foundation for Strategic Research. | “Given that the balance in the rebellion may have already shifted to the most radical groups, I see the decision as more of a bargaining tool with the Russians,” said Mr. Grand of the Foundation for Strategic Research. |
| The European Union decision is also seen as another step in the “full internationalization of the Syrian war,” said George A. Lopez, a professor at Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. | The European Union decision is also seen as another step in the “full internationalization of the Syrian war,” said George A. Lopez, a professor at Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. |
| The decision also puts the focus on Washington, which has so far refused to provide arms to the rebels. | The decision also puts the focus on Washington, which has so far refused to provide arms to the rebels. |
| The Europeans argue that “their actions are aimed both at bolstering the rebels militarily and indicating to Assad that he cannot survive without a political agreement to end the violence,” Mr. Lopez said. But “to the chaos within Syria is now added confusion, as all eyes turn to the U.S. for its decision in the wake of this war expansion.” | |
Ellen Barry contributed reporting from Moscow, and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem. | Ellen Barry contributed reporting from Moscow, and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem. |