US to Double Military Aid to Syria Rebels, Kerry to Meet Lavrov

Local Editor

As Syria's opposition forces and their main international allies meet in Istanbul, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry announced that the US "will double its non-lethal military aid to Syria's rebels."

The $123 US million defense aid package was announced by Kerry at the meeting in the Turkish capital on Sunday. The Secretary of State said the new non-lethal military supplies would go beyond the current provisions of food rations and medical kits, but did not elaborate.

"We want to see the coalition lead the way by ramping up its ability in order to be able to provide assistance, deliver services and respond to the needs of the Syrian people," Kerry said.
He added that the Syrian opposition and foreign backers have agreed that all future aid to rebels will be channeled through opposition's supreme military command.

Kerry is due to meet Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, on the sidelines of a NATO-Russia Council meeting.

On Friday a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry Aleksandr Lukashevich said that Russia is urging the ‘Friends of Syria' group to abstain from pursuing their own ends, and instead, to direct their efforts toward fostering a dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition.

The spokesman stressed that Russia supports a "peaceful settlement to the crisis in Syria by means of a country-wide dialogue free of foreign interference and direction."

This comes as German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle stressed that the Syrian opposition must distance itself from "terrorist and extremist" forces.
Meanwhile, on Saturday Syrian opposition called on its international supporters to deploy drones in Syria and carry out "surgical strikes".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org