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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrian opposition agrees to participate in Geneva 2 talks |
| 2013-11-11 |
| The Western-backed Syrian opposition has agreed to participate in international peace talks in Geneva, according to a statement by the Syrian National Coalition. The statement, translated from Arabic, outlined conditions that must be met before the talks, which aim to end the Syrian civil war by creating a transitional governing body. The Syrian National Coalition's leader has expressed a willingness to attend the U.S and Russian sponsored talks but this is the first time the group as a whole has committed to the proposed conference, while making stipulations. It was hoped that talks might take place before the end of November but the Syrian coalition's failure to come up with a clear position, as well as differences between Washington and Moscow over the purpose of the talks and opposition representation make delays likely. Major Islamist rebel forces have declared their opposition to the Geneva process if the conference does not result in Assad's removal and some have said they would charge anyone who attended the planned international talks with treason. With this in mind, Monday's statement said that a committee had been assigned to continue discussions with revolution forces inside and outside Syria to explain its stance on "Geneva 2." The Syrian National Coalition reached the consensus decision after two days of discussions. Adib Shishakly, a member of the coalition, said, "All we can do is hope is that these (Geneva) talks will end with the departure of Bashar al-Assad." |
| Posted by:ryuge |