U.S. considering providing lethal weapons to Syrian rebels: newspaper

The Obama administration is considering providing lethal weapons to Syrian opposition forces and a decision is expected within weeks, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

"President Obama is preparing to send lethal weaponry to the Syrian opposition and has taken steps to assert more aggressive U.S. leadership among allies and partners seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad," said the paper, quoting senior administration officials.

"The officials said they are moving toward the shipment of arms but emphasized that they are still pursuing political negotiation."

The revelation of policy change at the White House came after the United States joined Britain, France and Israel last week in asserting that chemical weapons have been used in the internal conflict in Syria, which has allegedly dragged on for three years and killed more than 70,000 people.

But Washington said it has no idea about "how they were used, when they were used, who used them." U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Tuesday against rushing to judgement on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, saying he needs "hard, effective evidence" before taking further moves.

The Washington Post said the administration is engaged in efforts to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin that the probable use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government -- and more direct outside intervention that could provoke -- should lead him to reconsider his support for al-Assad.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to visit Russia next week, and Obama himself will meet with Putin first in June when the Group of Eight leaders meet in Northern Ireland and again in September in Russia.

The two presidents talked by phone on Monday about the situation in Syria, and Obama underscored his concern over Syrian chemical weapons.

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 administration officials were quoted as saying.

Obama said on Tuesday that confirmation of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, which he had called a "red line" and "game changer," would mean that "there are some options that we might not otherwise exercise that we would strongly consider."

Senior officials described the president as ready to move on what one called the "left-hand side" of a broad spectrum that ranged from "arming the opposition to boots on the ground," The Washington Post said.

"We're clearly on an upward trajectory," a senior official was quoted as saying. "We've moved over to assistance that has a direct military purpose."

The Syrian rebels have been asking for antitank weapons and surface-to-air missiles in particular from Western countries, but Washington has until now limited its aid to non-lethal items as it fears that weapons provided might fall into the hands of Islamist militants among the rebels.

Asked about the possibility of establishing a no-fly zone over opposition-held areas in Syria, one official said the administration was "reviewing all options."