Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/22/us-arms-syria-rebels-assad-hezbollah
International opponents of Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, agreed on Saturday to give urgent military support to Western-backed rebels, aiming to stem a counter-offensive by Assad's forces and offset the growing power of jihadist fighters.
Assad's recapture of the strategic border town of Qusair, an effort spearheaded by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, and an expected assault on the divided northern city of Aleppo have alarmed supporters of the Syrian opposition. The US administration has responded by saying, for the first time, it will arm rebels, while Gulf sources say Saudi Arabia has accelerated the delivery of advanced weapons to the rebels over the last week.
Ministers from the 11 core members of the Friends of Syria group agreed "to provide urgently all the necessary materiel and equipment to the opposition on the ground," according to a statement released at the end of their meeting in Qatar. The statement did not commit all the countries to send weapons, but said each country could provide assistance "in its own way, in order to enable [the rebels] to counter brutal attacks by the regime and its allies".
Syrian newspaper carrying Putin's response:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/russian-advanced-weapons-for-syria-unrevealed-secrets-of-vladimir-putins-recent-visit-to-london/5339559
Putin clearly stated that the Middle East is going to witness a significant change. Syria will be armed with weapons that have never been seen before (in the Middle East) including computer guided smart missiles that never miss their target.
He also added that Russia will supply Syria with Skean 5 ground -to-sea missiles that are capable of hitting and sinking any target up to 250 km off the Syrian coast.
RT doesn't have the bit about Putin's reaction, so maybe take it with a grain of salt.
Coalition of the willing to sell weapons and make more war for oil, anyone?
Wag the dog, too.
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