In this photo released on Sunday, May 26, 2013, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad take their position during a clashes against Syrian rebels, in Aleppo, Syria. Syria's Information Ministry says rebels have killed a TV correspondent who was covering clashes near the border with Lebanon. (AP Photo/SANA) (The Associated Press)
BRUSSELS – The European Union has ended its arms embargo to Syria's outgunned rebels just as top U.S. and Russian diplomats try to persuade Syria's opposition and President Bashar Assad's regime to attend peace talks in Geneva.
The diplomatic moves, accompanied by an unannounced visit by Sen. John McCain to rebel forces in Syria, aim to put more pressure on Assad to seek a negotiated settlement to end Syria's 2-year-old civil war.
The prospect of EU nations being able to send weapons to the rebels while maintaining stiff economic sanctions against Assad's regime also sends a message to Russia. Moscow has unabashedly sent weapons to Assad's regime — and EU arms deliveries could partially re-balance the firepower in the war.
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