BRUSSELS,- The European Union (EU) agreed late Monday to lift its arms embargo against Syria, which has drawn immediate opposition from Russia and the Syrian government.Though no EU member will supply any weapons to Syria in the coming months, analysts fear the EU's move could threaten a U.S.-Russia peace initiative, which is seen as the best chance to end the bloodshed in the Mideast country.
COMPROMISED DEAL
The EU's decision came after months of diplomatic efforts made by France and Britain to offer more support for Syrian rebels and put more pressure on the Assad administration.
However, Austria and the Czech Republic have voiced strong opposition, claiming more weapons would add fuel to the prolonged conflicts in Syria and could end up in the wrong hands.
After a gruelling 12 hours of debate on Monday, EU foreign ministers reached a deal to lift the arms embargo that was due to expire at midnight on Friday.
Now the decision to supply arms to the Syrian rebels is up to each EU member, which will hold off on sending weapons to Syria so as to allow the planned U.S.-Russia sponsored international peace conference on Syria to take place in Geneva in June.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his country had "no immediate" plans to supply weapons to the rebels, but the EU's decision "sends a very strong message from Europe to the Assad regime."
"None of the member states have the intention of actually providing arms at this stage," Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans told reporters. "Quite a lot of arms are already going to the wrong hands. The parties to the conflict don't have a shortage of arms, frankly."
PEACE INITIATIVE THREATENED
The EU's move came amid the U.S.-Russian efforts to bring warring parties in Syria to Geneva for talks next month on ending the country's conflicts, which are increasingly embroiling its neighbors.
EU foreign ministers on Monday reiterated the urgent need for a political solution on the Syria conflicts and welcomed the joint U.S.-Russia peace initiative to promote a political process based on the principles included in the Geneva communique in June 2012.
"The EU will spare no effort in helping to create the appropriate conditions for a successful convening of this conference," they said.
However, analysts fear the U.S.-Russia peace initiative could be endangered by the EU's decision to lift arms embargo, which has been slammed on Tuesday by the Syrian government and Russia.
"The European Union's decision exposes... its obstruction of international efforts to achieve a political settlement to the crisis in Syria," the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The statement also accused the EU of providing "support and encouragement to terrorists by providing them with weapons in clear violation of international law and the UN charter."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the EU's end to arms embargo "directly harms the prospects of convening an international conference."
He insisted his country's own delivery of weapons to the Syrian government was "a stabilizing factor."
