RUSSIA has warned the European Union (EU) not to lift an arms embargo that has prevented weapons supplies to Syrian rebels.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday that EU foreign ministers, who last month rejected a Franco-British proposal to ease the ban, would in coming weeks discuss the question again.
Russia, which says it is continuing to implement weapons contracts with Syria but is no longer delivering arms that could be used in the conflict, has opposed supplies of weapons to President Bashar al Assad's opponents.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that, even if the embargo was removed, "the international obligations of the EU countries, which prohibit supplies of arms and ammunition to non-government actors, were not going anywhere.
Russia has used its UN Security Council veto to shield Mr Assad from efforts to push him from power or raise pressure to end violence in a conflict that has killed more than 70,000.
Moscow has been calling for the implementation of an declaration agreed by powers including Russia and the US in Geneva last June that called for a transitional government.
However, the US disagrees with Moscow's assertion that the agreement requires Mr Assad to step down.
Mr Lavrov said he and US Secretary of State John Kerry would discuss ways to promote a peace process at talks at a Nato gathering and a Russia-Nato foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels today.
l The EU should focus on implementing current sanctions against Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme rather than imposing new ones, according to Foreign Secretary William Hague.
He spoke days after US Secretary of State John Kerry asked for patience from US senators.
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