President Barack Obama is preparing to send lethal weaponry to the Syrian opposition senior administration officials have said. The officials added that Obama has also taken steps to assert more aggressive U.S. leadership among allies and partners seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, the Washington Post reports. According to the report, the officials said they are moving towards the shipment of arms, but emphasized that they are still pursuing political negotiation. To that end, the administration has launched an effort to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin that the probable use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Government should lead him to reconsider his support of Assad, the report said. Obama is likely to make a final decision on the supply of arms to the opposition within weeks, before a scheduled meeting with Putin in June, the officials said. The officials have not specified what equipment America is considering, although the rebels have specifically requested antitank weapons and surface-to-air missiles. (ANI)
