UK “Cannot Rule Out” Supplying Arms to Syrian Rebels

William Hague

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has given a rare interview to the Sunday Times in which he blames the US, UK, and the West of naivety, bullying, and supporting terrorism, and vowed revenge on Israel. But as the US has begun directly supporting the rebels with non-military aid, is it time for the West to counter Russia’s military support to the regime in order to oust Assad and begin rebuilding the country?

In an interview with the BBC, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that the UK “cannot rule out” supplying arms to the rebels, saying:

“You can reach the point eventually where humanitarian need is so great… that you have to do something new in order to save lives”

Hague went on to describe Assad as “delusional”, with 70,000 people having now lost their lives and hundreds of thousands more have fled to neighbouring countries as refugees from the uprising which began as peaceful protest nearly two years ago.

The foreign secretary did not speak directly about military aid, but is due to announce an aid package this week to assist those fighting against Assad’s forces, but he did say that he could not “rule anything out for the future” saying:

“If this is going to go on for months or years and more, tens of thousands of people are going to die, and countries like Iraq and Lebanon and Jordan are going to be destabilised, it is not something we can ignore.”

The UK is able to offer a wider-range of “non-lethal support” to the rebels after agreements reached in the EU last week amended the arms embargo to Syria, with the specifics of what is now permitted noticeably vague. Separately, the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided £139.5 million in humanitarian aid to Syria including medical aid, food, and blankets.