U.N. Sryia Envoy to Meet EU Foreign Ministers

EU foreign ministers will hold talks Monday with the international mediator on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, days after the bloc renewed wide-ranging sanctions against President Bashar Assad's regime.

Brahimi will have "an exchange of views" on the two-year conflict in Syria with the 27 EU foreign ministers at their regular monthly meeting, a European Union official said Friday.

The ministers will discuss how best to support efforts by Brahimi, the U.N. and Arab League mediator, to resolve the impasse in Syria through political, not military means, the official said.

While the EU insists Assad must stand down, there are wide differences about how far to go in that objective, with Britain in favor of military aid for the opposition while Germany and others say that is too risky.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle warned Thursday that "delivering weapons always involves the danger of an arms race and slipping into a proxy war that could push the whole region into a broader conflict".

Earlier this week, the chief of staff of Syria's rebel army called for the EU to end its "really regrettable" arms embargo, promising the war would be over quickly if it did so.

When the EU renewed its sanctions against Damascus at the end of last month, it left the door open to providing technical assistance, including training, to the Syrian National Coalition.

It also agreed to the supply of "non-lethal" military equipment and non-combat armored vehicles to the opposition, "intended for the protection of civilians" but drew the line there.

The United States said Thursday it would for the first time provide direct but non-lethal aid to rebel fighters battling Assad and $60 million in extra assistance.

The conflict in Syria is estimated to have cost some 70,000 lives since March 2011, with one million refugees fleeing the country.