Czech Republic against relaxing arms embargo to Syria

The Czech Republic is against relaxing the arms embargo to Syria. Speaking ahead of an EU meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said the Czech Republic would join Austria, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands in opposing such a move, not least because more weapons would only lead to further violence and in the present situation there is no saying where they might end up. Responding to the argument that more weapons would help the opposition force President Assad into a negotiated settlement, Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg pointed out that the opposition in Syria was already getting weapons from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey and that had not helped it oust the regime.