No progress in Syria rebel aid meeting

ISTANBUL

The meeting between Syrian rebels and Western officials in Turkey last weekend ended without any concrete commitments, according to an opposition source.

Western officials, including U.S. representatives, met the commander of the Syrian armed opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA), Salim Idris, last weekend to discuss further support, including weapons.

Louay al-Mokdad, the political and media coordinator of the FSA, told the Hürriyet Daily News that no progress had been made during the meeting. Rebels were asking Western countries for weapons, a
no-fly zone, and to push Russia to remove Iranian and Hezbollah fighters inside Syria. Western countries have so far refused to send arms to the rebels directly, but the Obama administration announced last
week that it would begin supplying lethal aid to rebels.