BRUSSELS – All options are on the table to support the Syrian opposition fighting President Bashar Al-Assad, European Union leaders said Friday, raising the possibility that non-lethal military equipment or even arms could eventually be supplied. In Moscow, Russia issued a clumsy denial Friday of a statement from its point man on Syria, who said a day earlier that Assad is losing control of the country. The Foreign Ministry insisted it is not changing its stance on the embattled Syrian regime. EU leaders instructed their foreign ministers to assess all possibilities to increase the pressure on Assad. Britain's David Cameron pushed for an early review of the arms embargo against Syria to potentially open the way to supply equipment to the rebels in the coming months, but Germany and others were more reluctant and blocked any quick move. But there was widespread agreement that whatever action can be taken under current legislation should be pursued, and the arms embargo would still be reviewed at a later stage. “I want a very clear message to go to President Assad that nothing is off the table,” Cameron told reporters at the end of a two-day EU summit. “I want us to work with the opposition ... so that we can see the speediest possible transition in Syria. “There is no single simple answer, but inaction and indifference are not options.” Officials said that Britain and France were keen for further discussion on lifting the arms embargo, to open the way for non-lethal assistance, at least initially. That could be discussed as soon as Jan. 28, when EU foreign ministers will hold their next meeting in Brussels. But Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel was far more cautious than Cameron, saying it was too soon to change the arms embargo. “We are all convinced that there must be a political change in Syria, that the future of Syria is without Assad,” she told reporters. “If it comes to a change of power and departure of Assad, then there must be a respect of human rights and protection of minorities.” But when it comes to arms or assistance with non-lethal equipment, she said it had not explicitly been discussed at the summit, saying it would be left up to foreign ministers. “The foreign ministers are to discuss how to help the opposition ... Nothing has been decided as far as a loosening of the arms embargo goes,” she said. The EU's support for the Syrian opposition comes amid reports of gains for rebels fighting Assad's forces. Russia's explanation — that the official was characterizing the opinion of the Syrian opposition rather than stating Russia's position — did not jibe with the words of Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who was quoted by all three leading Russian news agencies as saying Thursday: “there is a trend for the government to progressively lose control over an increasing part of the territory,” and adding that “an opposition victory can't be excluded.” The Foreign Ministry insisted in a statement Friday that Bogdanov was referring only to the claims of the “Syrian opposition and its foreign sponsors forecasting their quick victory over the regime in Damascus.” “In that context, Bogdanov again confirmed Russia's principled stance that a political settlement in Syria has no alternative,” the ministry's spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said in the statement. Bogdanov was speaking before the Public Chamber, a Kremlin advisory body. His statement marked the first official acknowledgment from Moscow that Assad's regime may fall. – Agencies
