You're reading: EU may decide to endorse Syrian opposition

BRUSSELS — The newly formed coalition of some Syrian opposition groups is likely to get significant new international support Monday, as the European Union appears ready to call it a legitimate representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people, an EU official said.

The move, if it comes, would not amount to official diplomatic recognition, as that is within the purview of the EU’s member countries, not the union as a whole. But if, as seems likely, the EU calls the new coalition of opposition groups fighting against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad a legitimate interlocutor, that would represent a major boost for a group still struggling to establish its legitimacy and coherence.

Foreign ministers from the EU’s 27 countries, meeting in Brussels, are expected to take such a step, an insider with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss closed-door talks that were still on-going.

So far, among Western nations, only France has extended diplomatic recognition to the coalition of disparate opposition groups in Syria. The U.K. has indicated it will consider the issue later this week.

“I hope this meeting here today will give a boost to that opposition, to the coalition, and will appreciate that they have made a big step forward,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on his way into the meeting in Brussels. “I will speak about the question of recognition when I talk to the House of Commons later this week.”

Italy said Monday it is giving the group political but not diplomatic recognition.

The international support comes at a difficult time for the new coalition, and at a time when events and alliances within Syria are fast-moving and fluid. Late Sunday, a group of extremist Islamist factions in Syria rejected the new opposition coalition, saying in a video statement they have formed an “Islamic state” in the embattled city of Aleppo to underline that they want nothing to do with the Western-backed bloc.

Some EU members have suggested arming the Syrian opposition, but officials said the idea is likely to get little traction in the meeting Monday. A senior EU official said last week that shipping weapons to Syrian weapons while keeping an embargo against the Assad regime in place would be very difficult to enforce.

Currently, the EU has an embargo prohibiting the shipment of arms into Syria. An EU official said Monday that embargo is likely to be renewed in full later this week.

Meanwhile, the EU’s foreign policy chief joined the chorus of international figures expressing concern about violence elsewhere in the Middle East, deploring the mounting death toll in the Gaza conflict.

Speaking before the foreign ministers meeting, Catherine Ashton said rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel needed to stop.

“What we have to do is to find … a solution that brings security to the region,” Ashton said.

Israeli forces are attacking Gaza in an effort to stop the militant rocket fire, and scores of Palestinians and three Israeli civilians have been killed in the conflict.

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said the most important thing is to arrange an immediate cease-fire.

“Then, we must look at the wider and deeper issues,” he said. “This is the second Gaza war in a few years. We can’t wait for the third and fourth.”

“It is also important that the role of Egypt be strengthened — and above all that its possibilities to influence Hamas can be used,” German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said. “And beyond that a significant concern that we want to work on with our talks is that the weapons smuggling that is believed to take place to Gaza via Egypt be prevented.”

The new Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, has condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Morsi, who comes from the Muslim Brotherhood, the parent group of Hamas, has pulled Egypt’s ambassador from Tel Aviv to protest Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

The EU ministers also are scheduled to discuss how to provide military assistance to the West African force that is scheduled to help Mali’s tenuous government wrest control of the country’s vast north that was seized by al-Qaida-linked fighters more than six months ago.

Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, has agreed to send about 3,300 troops to reinforce the 5,000 Malian government troops. The U.S. and EU could provide logistics and air support for the operation.

The United States is also worried that the Sahel region of northeastern Mali could become a terrorist haven, and is pushing for international action in the region.

The conflict in Mali flared up after last year’s civil war in Libya. Large quantities of arms and ammunition — including heavy weapons and artillery — were looted by rebels after NATO bombing raids on Libyan military stockpiles, and smuggled into Mali and other Sahel nations. Much of this arsenal is believed to have ended up in the hands of insurgent bands or criminal networks.