Turkey welcomes EU's lift of arms embargo against Syria

Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday welcomed European Union (EU)'s decision to lift arms embargo against the Syrian opposition. Gul said at a joint press conference with visiting Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki that Turkey "welcomes the international community's support to the (Syrian) opposition." He also warned against the involvement of Lebanon's Hezbollah in clashes in Syria, saying the "proxy wars" could lead to " sectarian clash" in Middle East. Late Monday, the EU announced a decision to lift the arms embargo on Syria to support the opposition forces, said a statement following long hours of discussion by its Foreign Affairs Council. According to the statement, at the beginning of August, the EU Foreign Affairs Council will adopt for a period of 12 months restrictive measures which include "Export and import restrictions with the exception of arms and related material and equipment which might be used for internal repression." To avoid the arms flowing to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, the EU insisted that the sale, supply, transfer or export of military equipment or of equipment which might be used for internal repression "will be for the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces and intended for the protection of civilians."