BRUSSELS – Britain and France have said the only way to get Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to talk is to threaten him with arming rebels.
The foreign ministers of the EU’s top military powers – William Hague and Laurent Fabius – made their case in a joint letter, seen by EUobserver, sent to EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton on 21 March.
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They added: “It is only by increasing the pressure on the regime that we can help bring them to the negotiating table and keep open the prospect of a political solution. This decision is not – and this is the key – an alternative to a political resolution, it is an essential enabler.”
They warned that the status quo will see more killing and more escalation.
They said “there is a cruel imbalance between the forces in the field, causing ever more civilian casualties” and that “the opposition needs to be able to protect the areas it controls.”
Full article: UK and France: only weapons will make al-Assad talk (EU Observer)
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