BRUSSELS – The European Union Monday renewed sanctions against Syria while amending them to enable nations to provide more “non-lethal” and technical support to help protect civilians. A statement agreed by EU foreign ministers said the bloc's sanctions were renewed for three more months until end-May, while “amending them so as to provide greater non-lethal support and technical assistance for the protection of civilians.” The ministers' talks on Syria largely focused on a request by Britain, backed by Italy and a handful of EU allies, to lift an EU arms embargo barring the supply of weapons to the rebel coalition battling President Bashar Al-Assad. Though the arms embargo was maintained, the agreement to boost “non-lethal” support and “technical assistance” went some way to meeting Britain's calls for more support for the opposition Syrian National Coalition. British Foreign Secretary William Hague had called for changes to the existing arms ban “so that we can provide a broader range of support to the National Coalition.” “We give them strong political and diplomatic support. We also give them assistance in terms of equipment at the moment to help them try to save people's lives,” he added. “I think there is a broader range of equipment that we could give to them.” “Technical assistance and protection of civilians will be easier,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said after the meeting in Brussels. He gave no details of what new support would be allowed in practice. Many EU governments are concerned any easing of the arms embargo would only inflame the Syrian conflict, and it would be difficult to ensure any equipment reaches the right people. “There is no shortage of arms in Syria,” Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said before the meeting. Several scenarios were under consideration during Monday's discussions, EU officials said, including a full lifting of the arms ban for shipments to opposition groups. – Agencies
