Arms race over Syria looms as EU scraps embargo

Each development could significantly raise the firepower in the two-year civil war that has already killed more than 70,000 people and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing the country. It also comes as the US and Russia are preparing for a major peace conference in Geneva that diplomats have called the best chance yet to end the bloodshed under Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

The EU move to lift an arms embargo on Syria sparked broad political fallout within hours. Russia, which has been a strong supporter of the Syrian government, criticised the decision and acknowledged its anti-aircraft missile sale. Israel joined in by warning that it would be prepared to attack any such missile shipments. EU nations continued to express divisions within the 27-member bloc over sending arms to the rebels while both sides fighting in Syria spoke out on the decision.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov called the EU’s decision “a manifestation of double standards” that will hurt prospects for the Geneva talks, which are expected to happen next month.

France and Britain, meanwhile, hope the new EU position can help prod the two sides to the negotiating table in Geneva. EU diplomats have said the two nations are considering providing equipment to the rebels.

Mr Ryabkov confirmed that Russia has signed a contract with president Bashar Assad’s government to provide state-of-the-art S-300 air defence missiles, which he said were important to prevent foreign intervention in the country.

Israel has been pressing Moscow not to go through with the delivery of S-300s, fearing they could be given to hostile groups like Hezbollah.

Mr Ryabkov said Russia understood other nations’ concerns but said his country believes they may “help restrain some hot-heads considering a scenario to give an international dimension to this conflict”.

In Damascus, a Syrian lawmaker criticised the EU move, saying that efforts to arm the rebels will discourage the opposition from seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict. The comments by Essam Khalil, a member of the ruling Baath Party, were the first by a Syrian official.

David Hartwell, a Middle East analyst for IHS Jane’s, said the EU move has “more diplomatic than military weight” so far and will have “little immediate impact on the battlefield”. He noted news reports in neighbouring Lebanon reporting that Assad’s forces are planning an offensive to retake rebel-held parts of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

The Syrian rebels may get Western arms “too late to prevent further government victories, a scenario that might cause the Syrian government to rethink its decision to participate in the Geneva peace conference,” he said.

US senator John McCain, meanwhile, made an unannounced visit to rebel forces in Syria, putting more pressure on Assad to seek a negotiated settlement.

But there is no certainty that the warring sides will come to the table in Geneva. Assad’s regime has provided no sign of any willingness to cede power in Syria, a key opposition demand before entering any talks. Meanwhile, the opposition remains badly divided and Western powers fear that any European weapons could fall into the hands of extremists.