Arming Syrian opposition is violation of international law – Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that supplying the Syrian opposition with weapons was illegal under international law, a day after Britain floated the possibility it might bypass an EU arms embargo to do just that.

“International law does not permit the supply of arms to non-governmental actors and our point of view is that it is a violation of international law,” Lavrov told a news conference in London via a translator.

Lavrov and British Foreign Secretary William Hague stressed that they both believed in political dialogue, but their difference of opinion over arming the rebels and over taking tough action against Syria in the U.N. Security Council laid bare their disunity.

Lavrov said he was concerned about the presence of radicals among the rebels.

M.D