French FM warns against arming Syria oppositionMarch 16, 2012 - 19:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - France is against foreign powers arming the opposition groups fighting Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, because such a move could lead to civil war in the country, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, according to RFI. In 2011, France helped arm the Libyan rebels who overthrew Moamer Kadhafi, but Paris fears the opposition in Syria is too divided to form a credible armed force and that the situation on the ground is too volatile. "The Syrian people is deeply divided and if we give arms to a particular faction of the opposition we could trigger a civil war between Christians, Alawites, Sunnis and Shiites," Juppe warned, in a radio interview, adding "It could become an even bigger catastrophe than we have now." For the past year, Assad's forces have been brutally repressing a revolt against his rule, firing on civilian demonstrations and residential districts as well as fighting a small and disorganised armed uprising. Some Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, favour arming the rebels, but France and other Western powers still hope to secure a negotiated solution backed by a tough UN Security Council resolution condemning Assad. Permanent Council members China and Russia have so far blocked attempts to agree a motion calling on Assad to step down, a stance which Juppe said was based on a "bad medium term calculation" by Moscow. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |