Austrian FM: Lifting EU arms embargo on Syrian opposition prompted Austria's UNDOF pullout

Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said his country's decision to pull out its battalion out of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Golan came after the EU approved a decision to lift the embargo on sending weapons to the armed terrorist groups in Syria. In a statement on Sunday, Spindelegger said that ''the government has not announced the withdrawal of Austrian troops abruptly.'' ''We informed everyone that the Austrian mission in Golan won't be safe if the EU approved lifting the arms embargo on the Syrian opposition,'' he said, citing repeated attacks and kidnappings against the UNDOF personnel in Golan recently. Spindelegger said that the situation has turned extremely dangerous in Golan as 23 Austrians soldiers have been killed since the Austrian troops assumed their mission in the Syrian Golan in 1974. He added that Austria is considering a plan to withdraw the Austrian troops in four weeks, expressing readiness to withdraw them gradually in case no alternative forces are available. Spindelegger did not rule out the possibility that the Austrian troops might return if it becomes safe for them to. Earlier, the Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann officially announced the withdrawal of the Austrian battalion from the UNDOF in Golan due to the deteriorating situation there after armed terrorist attacks on the UN force. Foreign and Expatriates Ministry expressed regret over the Austrian government's decision to pull out troops from Golan and appreciation for the role that the Austrian mission played while in place.