Syria’s Opposition Hopes to Win the War by Selling Oil

[Time]

Given the many resolutions on Syria that have hit a brick wall at the U.N. Security Council, and the endless wrangling among Western leaders over how to end the calamitous two-year war, the April 22 decision by E.U. foreign ministers to lift the oil embargo against Syria looked almost like tangible progress. "We wish for good economic development in the areas controlled by the opposition," Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters before the vote in Luxembourg. "Therefore we lift the sanctions that hinder the moderate opposition forces' work." On paper, the E.U.'s idea seemed straightforward. Without an embargo, European companies can now legally begin importing barrels of oil directly from rebel groups, which have seized several oil fields in recent months, mostly around the eastern area of Deir Ezzor. That would provide the opposition with its first reliable source of income since the revolt erupted in Feb. 2011, and in theory hasten the downfall of Bashar Assad's regime, by giving rebels the means to run skeletal local governments and consolidate their control. As part of the decision, the E.U. ministers also agreed to export technical equipment, insure the rebels' shipments of oil and invest in the rebel oil businesses. Before the war, Syria earned about $3.6 billion a year exporting oil and gas to Europe, with its biggest customers in Germany and Italy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (PHOTOS: Syria's Slow-Motion Civil War) For Syria's opposition leaders, the E.U.'s decision last week was welcome news, especially since they have spent months trying to cobble together an interim government that can begin delivering some basic services to rebel areas, which has been hampered by a lack of money. From their perch at the margins of the conflict or overseas, the opposition's leaders are struggling to create an iota of legitimacy among the fighting factions on the ground. "Oil will be one of the main resources for the government's budget," Yasser Tabbara, advisor to the Syrian National Coalition's interim Prime Minister Ghassan Hitto, told TIME on Wednesday. Speaking by

Via: TIME GlobalSpin

[Folami David]

That would be a very funny way to win a war. Sellling oil to win a war? That sounds funny to me. Okay then let's wait and see