UK to recognise Syrian opposition © Reuters/Osman Orsal Britain is to recognise the Syrian opposition as a "legitimate representative" of the country's people, William Hague has said as he arrived in Tunisia for talks on the response to the repression by Syrian president Bashar Assad's regime. The Foreign Secretary said the international community had to "tighten the diplomatic and economic stranglehold" on the Syrian government, amid growing concern over bloodshed in Homs and other cities. "We will intensify our links with the opposition," Mr Hague said. I will meet leaders of the Syrian National Council in a few minutes' time, before the main meeting takes place. We, in common with other nations, will now treat them and recognise them as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Although Mr Hague denounced Assad's government as "a criminal regime," he indicated that Britain was not considering sending arms to the Syrian opposition, as many have demanded. He added that he expected EU countries to agree to tougher sanctions against the Syrian regime at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.