The EU's decision to lift its ban on arming Syrian rebels was effectively France and the UK's doing, according to Foreign Minister George Vella, who said that a considerable number of countries – including Malta – were opposed to it.

However, Dr Vella said in parliament this evening, the two countries stood their ground and had time on their side, since the existing arms embargo was set to expire at the end of the month.

He said that EU foreign ministers originaly considered seven options, which were whittled down to three: extending the present sanctions for an agreed period of time, lifting them completely – as the UK and France wanted – and a compromise position which allowed the supply of lethal military equipment under certain conditions.

According to Dr Vella, many countries – including Malta – were opposed to lifting the embargo. But a unanimous agreement was required, one which France and the UK was unwilling to provide, and the compromise position was ultimately chosen when it was clear that the two countries would not agree to extending the embargo.

The foreign minister said that he had expressed his concerns about arming rebels, stating that this could provide the Syrian regime led by Bashar al-Assad with an excuse to avoid peace talks, add fuel to the fire and possibly worsen the humanitarian situation.

He also said that it was unrealistic to expect the supply of arms to a warzone to be properly controlled, stating that there was no way to ensure that arms would not end up in the wrong hands.

The minister described such controls as "airy-fairy", stating that even when food is supplied to disaster areas, a proportion ends up being sold in local markets.

France and the UK both have strong arms industries, but Dr Vella did not draw attention to this directly.

However, without mentioning any countries, he did point out that it was painful for him to hear arguments that lifting the embargo would help create jobs in weapons manufacturing, since this manufacturing may lead to the deaths of many.

“This reflection is personal, but the argument pained me a lot,” the minister said.