The arms embargo lifted, not without conditions…
(BRUSSELS2) “ My longest meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. 13 hours of serious and ultimately productive discussion on Syria It was with these words that the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, concluded the meeting, with a tweet.
Suspensions of sittings and attempts at compromise
It actually took several long hours of discussions, several compromise proposals, several round trips by diplomats, suspensions of sessions, resumptions with ministers alone to arrive just a little midnight at a compromise between the "27" on a conditional lifting and gradual arms embargo for the Syrian opposition. Some ministers had moreover thrown in the towel, being taken up by other obligations (it was the ambassador permanent representative in Brussels who took over in these cases). The first to leave was Laurent Fabius, meeting with the Russian ministers S. Lavrov and American J. Kerry in Paris obliges...
Four conditions
The principle of the delivery of armaments to the Syrian national coalition and to the opposition is acquired under 4 conditions: 1° the objective of "protection of civilians", 2° "sufficient guarantees", 3° the granting of licenses on a case-by-case basis, 4° compliance with the criteria of the common position of 2008. Decision which requires compliance with certain common criteria... in particular not to deliver weapons "likely to provoke or prolong armed conflicts or aggravate existing tensions or conflicts in the country of final destination". It all depends on how you interpret this criterion.
Position reviewable by August 1
In any case, no delivery will be made." at this stage ". The position will be reconsidered” before August 1 on the basis of a report by the High Representative, on the developments of the political dialogue initiative led by Russia and the United States and the commitment of the Syrian parties ».
Also read more details about the B2 club (subscribers) and our Kezako profile: Arms export rules (decision of 2008)
