Saudi FM backs arms for Syrian rebels

Saudi foreign minister tells 'Friends of Syria' conference supplying Syrian fighters with weapons is 'an excellent idea.' EU announces sanctions on Damascus' Central Bank, while Clinton warns Assad of brutality's ramifications

Roi Kais|Published: 02.24.12 , 20:25

Saudi Arabia believes supplying the Syrian rebels fighting the brutal regime of President Bashar Assad is "an excellent idea."

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal made the statement on Friday, at the Friends of Syria nations meeting in Tunis.

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The meeting was convened in order to devise ways to increase pressure on Assad to call for a cease-fire, step down and allow humanitarian aid to flow to hard-hit areas.

Asked at the start of a meeting if he thought arming the Syrian opposition was a good idea, al-Faisal said: "I think it's an excellent idea." Asked why, he said, "Because they have to protect themselves."

Fighting in Homs

The group is demanding that Assad step down or face as-yet undefined punishments.

Saudi Arabia's support of the move did not stop its delegation from walking out of the meeting over what it called the forum's "inactivity." An aide to the Saudi foreign minister said that "We left to attend bilateral meetings" on the sidelines of the 'Friends of Syria' conference."

Also on Friday, Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby called on the UN Security Council to issue an urgent resolution calling for a ceasefire in Syria.

"This conference should make practical moves and prioritize the issuance of an urgent Security Council resolution for a ceasefire," he told the opening session of the "Friends of Syria" meeting.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who attended the meeting, said that the Syrian regime will have "more blood on its hands" if it does not immediately comply with cease-fire demands being issued by a group of 70 Western and Arab nations.

Clinton said that Assad's regime has "ignored every warning, squandered every opportunity and broken every agreement."

Meanwhile, the European Union said that it will freeze the Syria's central bank assets by the end of February as part of a package of tighter sanctions aimed at stopping a crackdown on the opposition.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that "Starting from Monday, we will take new strong measures, notably a freezing of the assets of the Syrian central bank."