WASHINGTON
Leaders of Syria’s opposition forces got a chance to make their case for increased U.S. support directly with Sen. John McCain when he slipped into that country for a surprise visit. McCain, R-Ariz., favors providing arms to rebel forces in Syria.
A State Department official said the department was aware of McCain crossing into Syrian territory Monday, but referred further questions to McCain’s office. McCain spokeswoman Rachel Dean confirmed the Monday trip, but declined further comment.
The visit took place at the same time as meetings in Paris involving efforts to secure participation of Syria’s fractured opposition in an international peace conference in Geneva.
And in Brussels, the European Union decided late Monday to lift the arms embargo on the Syrian opposition while maintaining all other sanctions against President Bashar Assad’s regime after June 1, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.
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