Russia says arming Syrian opposition would be illegal

Britain and Russia tried to present a unified front over the Syrian crisis on Wednesday, but their deep differences on whether outside powers should arm the rebels were quickly laid bare.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said arming Syria’s opposition would be against international law, a day after Britain said it might bypass a European Union arms embargo to do just that, and accused the rebel side of failing to provide negotiators to find a political solution to the conflict.

“International law does not permit the supply of arms to non-governmental actors and our point of view is that it is a violation of international law,” Lavrov told a news conference in London via a translator.