BRUSSELS — British Foreign Secretary William Hague says the European Union has decided to lift the arms embargo on the Syrian opposition while maintaining all other sanctions against Bashar Assad’s regime after June 1.
Hague said after the meeting Monday that the decision “sends a very strong message from Europe to the Assad regime.”
The all-day meeting laid bare EU hesitation on feeding arms in a foreign conflict only months after it won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Hague insisted that Britain had “no immediate plans to send arms to Syria. It gives us flexibility to respond in the future if the situation continues to deteriorate.”