UK FM to attend Friends of Syria Istanbul meeting

British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague will attend the upcoming meeting of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People this weekend in Istanbul. Hague said in the British Parliament's lower house (House of Commons) that the British government was willing to support the Syrian opposition more and that it was important to fulfill a political transition process. Hague noted, their Syrian policy could not be stable if the growing tragedy was considered. The British foreign secretary said his country had not made a decision on dispatch of weapons to dissidents in Syria but he wanted the EU to ease and even lift the weapons embargo on Syria.

Hague said that he would discuss those issues with other foreign ministers at the meeting in Istanbul and also at the conference of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg next week.

Talks were held with the Syrian opposition on the sidelines of the G8 foreign ministers meeting in England last week.

Britain which has sent financial aid of almost 140 million British pounds to Syria officially recognized the National Coalition for Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces in November 2012. Valid Safur has been appointed as the National Coalition for Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces representative to United Kingdom.

Britain announced in April that it was planning to implement its own decisions in case the EU wouldn't lift weapons embargo on Syria.