Discussions continued last night in Brussels among EU foreign ministers on the controversial Syrian arms embargo, amid deep divisions between member states on whether to supply arms to rebels in the war-torn country.
The talks, which had been scheduled to conclude before 6pm, continued into the night as the European Union’s 27 member states strove to find a compromise agreement.
Britain and France have called for the arms embargo to be lifted in order to supply arms to certain rebel groups. But other countries are staunchly opposed to the move, fearing that weapons could end up in the hand of extreme militants.
Austria was among the strongest opponents of lifting the ban, with Austrian foreign minister Michael Spindelegger declaring last night that the talks had broken down.
“I regret that after long talks it was not possible to find a compromise with the UK and France,” he said. “We have no consensus, which means the sanctions regime will not be continued.” However, diplomats were hopeful that a deal would be agreed.
Irish position
Earlier, Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore reiterated the Irish Government's resistance to lifting the arms embargo, underlining Ireland's preference for a "peaceful, political settlement" to the crisis.
“I think it is important that the situation in Syria does not become further militarised. We need to secure a peaceful outcome, a political solution. That’s going to be very difficult to achieve,” the Tánaiste said, noting that Ireland was one of the countries that had been “consistently reluctant” to change the position on the arms embargo.
The Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden were also against the move.
The embargo, introduced in May 2011, had been due to expire on Friday, increasing pressure on EU ministers to reach agreement at yesterday’s talks. But differences have been building between member states, and all 27 must support a change in policy.
According to EU sources, one proposal to lift the embargo until August was rejected by France and Britain at yesterday’s meeting.
French foreign minister Laurent Fabius left the meeting early to attend talks in Paris with US secretary of state John Kerry and Russia's foreign minister on a proposed peace summit in Geneva next month.
Mr Fabius said there were "stronger and better substantiated indications of the local use of chemical arms", following a report in French newspaper Le Monde that it had found evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Opposition
While the Syrian government indicated its willingness to partake in the summit, the various Syrian opposition groups held a fourth day of discussions in Istanbul and remained divided on whether to join the talks.
