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Tieng Anh Vui
European Union foreign ministers are to discuss British and French calls for them to ease sanctions against Syria so weapons can be supplied to the rebels.
At a meeting in Brussels, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague is expected to argue that the current sanctions regime, which is due to expire at the end of this week, is no longer working.
He wants it amended so arms can be sent to "moderate" forces in the opposition.
However, several EU states are totally opposed to ending the arms embargo.
Earlier, Syria's foreign minister confirmed the government would "in principle" attend an international peace conference which the US and Russia hope will take place in Geneva next month.
Walid Muallem said it would be "a good opportunity for a political solution" to the conflict, which the UN says has left more than 80,000 people dead.
Members of the main opposition coalition are currently discussing whether to attend the conference, but spokesmen have said they would if President Bashar al-Assad agreed to step down.
'Devastating consequences'
Mr Hague has argued that partially lifting the EU arms embargo, so that weapons could be given to rebel groups, would complement, rather than work against, the peace process because it would strengthen the opposition's hand in negotiations with President Assad.
Last week, he told British MPs that weapons would be supplied only "under carefully controlled circumstances" and with clear commitments from the opposition.
"We must make clear that if the regime does not negotiate seriously at the Geneva conference, no option is off the table," he said. "We have to be open to every way of strengthening moderates and saving lives rather than the current trajectory of extremism and murder."
On Monday, Mr Hague and the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, will urge other European governments to amend the embargo text to allow weapons to be supplied to the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, or allow more assistance to be sent.
Another possibility is for the existing embargo, which expires at midnight on 31 May, to be extended without amendment for a short period to see if the Geneva conference is successful.
Unanimity is needed, and several countries are opposed, reports the BBC's Matthew Price in Brussels. They include Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.
One Austrian source told the BBC that allowing lethal weapons to be sent into a war zone would turn EU policy on its head, our correspondent adds.
Many countries are also afraid that anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons given to rebel fighters considered "moderate" might end up in the hands of jihadist militants, including those from the al-Nusra Front, which has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.
The lack of a centralised command structure and allegations of human rights abuses by rebel fighters are also sources of concern.
The European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's diplomatic service, has cautioned against "any counterproductive move" that could harm the prospects of the Geneva conference. It suggests extending the embargo to allow "more time for reflection".
Oxfam has warned of "devastating consequences" if the embargo ends.
"There are no easy answers when trying to stop the bloodshed in Syria, but sending more arms and ammunition clearly isn't one of them," the aid agency's head of arms control, Anna Macdonald, said in a statement on Thursday. "International efforts should be focused on halting arms transfers to all sides and finding a political solution to the crisis."
US Secretary of State John Kerry has been lobbying EU member states hesitant about lifting the embargo, which our correspondent says has forced the debate in Brussels and added weight to the British and French position. Still, a compromise may be impossible, he adds.
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
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