MV Alaed, the Russian cargo ship said to be carrying weapons bound for Syria, has been forced back to its base following insurance of the vessel being revoked by a British maritime insurer. Standard Club said it would pull coverage owing to the nature of the voyage undertaken by the Alead which it says was in breach of the EU arms embargo against Syria.

The EU-wide arms ban means that European companies are prevented from providing services to organizations that may be arming government forces in Damascus.

William Hague, the UK Foriegn Secretary, had revealed during questioning in parliament today that the ship was headed back to Russia. Hague also said that he had discussions with Russia and strongly discouraged that any country should attempt to supply arms to Syria following violence in the country.

The ship controversy has also come after an UN observer mission was forced to suspend its work in Syria, due to the intensifying violence there. Robert Mood who heads the mission will also brief the UN Security Council about the mission and whether it can continue without a ceasefire first being put in place.

Also a G20 summit in Mexico is underway this week, and it is hoped that diplomatic moves could be be made to help end some of the violence, but a concrete resolution still seems very far away.