European Union Debates Arming Syrian Rebels BRUSSELS - European Union foreign ministers gathered here on Monday amid deep divisions over whether to allow member countries to send lethal aid to the Syrian opposition. Britain is pressing hardest for the union to amend an embargo and allow weapons shipments to forces opposing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, whose troops have made gains recently. How long can we go on with people having every weapon that's ever been devised dropped on them while most of the world denies them the means to defend themselves? That is creating extremism, it is radicalizing people," William Hague, the British foreign secretary, warned in comments to reporters at the start of the meeting. Mr. Hague said he would seek "common ground" with his European partners but added that "doing the right thing for Syria" is "more important than whether the E.U. is able to stick together on every detail of this." At a news conference before a separate meeting in Brussels on relations between Turkey and the European Union, Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said he supported the lifting of the arms embargo against Syria. "If we do not prevent this through the U.N. Security Council, at least we need to support the right of self-defense," he said. France supports that position but has signaled the need for consensus. Austria, Sweden and the Czech Republic are deeply skeptical about easing the embargo. They distrust large parts of the opposition, and they fear the weapons will end up in the hands of jihadist groups and inflame fighting in the Middle East. "I think the European Union has to hold the line," Michael Spindelegger, the Austrian foreign minister, told reporters before the talks. "We are a peace community," and sending lethal weapons "would be a reversal of our policy," he warned. These governments say funneling arms to the opposition now would undermine the chances of a deal with the Assad regime before a planned peace conference in Geneva sponsored by the United States and Russia. Austria has also warned that easing the embargo would endanger Austrian troops who patrol the United Nations cease-fire line in the Golan Heights, on the border between Israel and Syria. The embargo was imposed to hobble the Assad regime's capacity to trade and raise money, and to curb the movements and personal wealth of Mr. Assad's family and associates. But the embargo is expiring at the end of the week, and that has put pressure on ministers to reach a deal, with some modifications promising the prospect of additional help for opposition fighters. Other governments, like the one in the Netherlands, said reaching a unified position was vital. "We need to find some middle ground," Frans Timmermans, the Dutch minister of foreign affairs, said before the meeting. "Already now quite a lot of arms are going to the wrong hands even with a European arms embargo," Mr. Timmermans said. But "if changing the arms embargo could send a clear message to Assad saying, you know, the other parties will also have access to arms if you don't go to Geneva to negotiate, then in that context changing the arms embargo could be a useful tool." Mr. Timmermans said he and his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle, were part of efforts to reach a compromise. One possible agreement would involve easing the arms embargo if there was no progress at the planned peace talks in Geneva. Other elements of a compromise could involve limiting the types of weapons allowed, and which rebel groups may receive them. "There are strong views in favor of trying to find a way that Europe can demonstrate not only that it is united but also that it has a good and strong position to take forward," said Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, who sets the agenda for such meetings.