WORLD_ Syria: Turkish foreign minister criticises EU weapons embargo

Syria: Turkish foreign minister criticises EU weapons embargo


The European Union arms embargo on Syria favours the regime and risks creating a situation similar to Bosnia’s civil war, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.

By David Blair
11:39PM GMT 08 Mar 2013


During an official visit to London, Ahmet Davutoglu gave a detailed critique of the consequences of the EU’s ban on supplying weapons to any party in Syria’s conflict.

This measure had disadvantaged the rebels by making it harder for them to build up their own strength. The embargo had correspondingly strengthened President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, which continue to receive weapons from Russia and Iran and never depended on EU countries in any case.

”At the end of the day, the side which has weapons in their hand, they have all the opportunity to kill the other side,” said Mr Davutoglu.


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An arms embargo on the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s had obstructed the efforts of Bosnian Muslims to build their own forces, while favouring the established army, he argued. “The Bosnians were looking for weapons from anywhere to defend their homes. Now the same thing is happening in Syria,” said Mr Davutoglu.

Because of the arms embargo on Bosnia, added the minister, for “three years we gave a green light to Milosevic, Mladic and Karadzic to continue killing the people.”

Mr Davutoglu said that he had raised his concerns with William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, and Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister.

In May, EU foreign ministers are expected to decide whether to renew the embargo, which expires on 1 June. Mr Hague has signalled Britain’s unease by securing an amendment allowing the supply of “non-lethal” military equipment, including armoured cars.

But there is no consensus behind lifting the restrictions altogether. Germany, in particular, wants to keep the embargo in place.

Turkey, by contrast, has armed Syria’s rebels and allowed them to establish bases inside its territory. Mr Davutoglu said that Mr Assad had spurned repeated opportunities to resolve the crisis peacefully by negotiating with his domestic critics.

Turkey’s hand had also been forced by Russia and China, who jointly prevented the United Nations Security Council from reaching a consensus on Syria.

This crucial division in the international community and Mr Assad’s intransigence had made it necessary to help the rebels, said Mr Davutoglu. For as long as the war continues, he added, Turkey as a neighbour of Syria was “feeling the heat every day”.



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