G8 ministers meet Syrian fighters in London

LONDON: Syrian fighters met US Secretary of State John Kerry and G8 foreign ministers in London yesterday as the United States mulls ways to step up support for outgunned opponents of Bashar Assad.
“The United States every single day thinks about what more we can do to help bring this horrible situation to an end,” a senior US administration official said.
The aim was to “move to a transition government that reflects the legitimate desires of the people,” the official said.
Kerry also met Syrian opposition Prime Minister Ghassan Hitto and other top coalition members on the sidelines of the G8 foreign ministers meeting, for talks hosted by British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Hitto and Syrian National Coalition vice presidents George Sabra and Soheir Atassi pushed their demands for weapons to help topple Assad.
The US and EU are currently providing non-lethal aid such as communications equipment, and are beginning to distribute food and medical supplies to the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
But many countries have refused to arm the opposition fearing the weapons could get into the hands of Al-Qaeda-linked militants in a complex and volatile conflict.
The G8 foreign ministers were expected to issue “quite a strong statement” at the end of their two-day meeting, the US official told reporters in London.
But the official admitted there had been “some vigorous discussion” about the statement, with some objections particularly from the Russian side, which remains a key ally of the Assad regime.
Britain and France continued to push for the lifting of an EU arms embargo to Syria so they can arm the fighters, Hague added. The embargo is due to expire at the end of May but other EU nations are largely in favor of renewing it.
Syria’s opposition umbrella group the National Coalition is recognized by the United States and many other Western and Arab countries as the sole representative of the Syrian people.
The Syrian opposition was formally granted an Arab League seat last month.
Meanwhile, the head of Syrian militant group Al-Nusra Front pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda yesterday, but distanced his group from claims it had merged with Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
FSA said that they won’t support the ideology of Al-Nusra.
“There has never been and there will never be a decision at the command level to coordinate with Al-Nusra, said FSA.