The British government has called on the EU to lift sanctions on the supply of weapons to the main Syrian opposition.
In a discussion paper circulated to other EU members, the UK proposed two options to change the sanctions, which are coming to an end at the end of the month.
The document says there was a strong argument in foavour of removing sanctions completely, but another option was to remove the words “non-lethal” from the list of items that fall under the exemptions, which would allow weapons to be sent to the Syrian National Council.
The UK is arguing that a strengthening of the “moderate” opposition would increase pressure for a political settlement.
On Tuesday the US and Russia came to an agreement to hold an international conference to explore solutions to the conflict, encouraging participation from the government and the opposition.
However, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad would play no role in a political solution to the conflict.
Speaking after a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Kerry said the US would work with Nasser to "effect a transition government by mutual consent of both sides, which clearly means that in our judgement President Assad will not be a component of that transitional government".
