The Syria Transition Support Act introduced by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Bob Corker (R-TN) was approved by the Committee, on 21 May 2013, by a vote of 15 to 3. [1]

The legislation will be submitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives. It aims to provide arms to opposition factions "respectful of human rights and not linked to terrorism" with a view to strengthening the U.S. position at the "Geneva-2 conference."

In the event the European Union follows suit, Austria has made it known that she would immediately withdraw her contingent from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). Composed of Indians, Filipinos and Austrians, UNDOF supervises the implementation of the disengagement from the Syrian Golan Heights occupied by Israel.

[1] "New US Senate bill on Syria”, Voltaire Network, 21 May 2013.