Russian, German officials against arming Syrian rebels

Source : Voice of Russia

Russia is concerned with the intention of several Western countries to arm the Syrian opposition, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov says.

In his Twitter blog, Mr. Gatilov wrote that arming the Syrian rebels contradicts the same countries’ statements that they want stability in Syria.

Earlier, Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on European countries not to arm the Syrian opposition. Otherwise, there will be a threat that the conflict in Syria may spread to other countries, Mr. Westerwelle believes.

This was Mr. Westerwelle’s reaction to a statement of his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, who said on Thursday that if the EU does not lift the embargo on supplies of weapons to Syria, France and the UK will arm the Syrian opposition on a unilateral basis.

Voice of Russia, TASS, RIA