Al Jazeera News :
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Abdel Al-Jubeir has issued a fresh call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down through negotiations or else be forcibly removed from power, as Syrian opposition groups held talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Jubeir made the statement on Thursday, while Syrian opposition leaders discussed forming a unified front ahead of proposed peace talks with Assad’s government in Vienna.
The Saudi foreign minister also said he hopes that the Syrian opposition can come up with a common vision for Syria during the meeting. He urged delegates to prove wrong those who argue that the Syrian opposition is too fragmented to present a unified front at future peace talks.
Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition figures in Riyadh have also agreed to set up a body including political and armed factions to lead preparations for the talks with the Syrian government.
They have chosen a new secretary-general and a new spokesperson, as well as the formation of a supreme commission for negotiation that comprised of 23 members.
Monzer Akbik of the Syrian National Coalition, speaking from Dubai where he was in contact with delegates in Saudi Arabia, said the group would include six from the coalition in exile, six from rebel factions, five from a Damascus-based opposition group and eight independent figures.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Abdel Al-Jubeir has issued a fresh call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down through negotiations or else be forcibly removed from power, as Syrian opposition groups held talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Jubeir made the statement on Thursday, while Syrian opposition leaders discussed forming a unified front ahead of proposed peace talks with Assad’s government in Vienna.
The Saudi foreign minister also said he hopes that the Syrian opposition can come up with a common vision for Syria during the meeting. He urged delegates to prove wrong those who argue that the Syrian opposition is too fragmented to present a unified front at future peace talks.
Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition figures in Riyadh have also agreed to set up a body including political and armed factions to lead preparations for the talks with the Syrian government.
They have chosen a new secretary-general and a new spokesperson, as well as the formation of a supreme commission for negotiation that comprised of 23 members.
Monzer Akbik of the Syrian National Coalition, speaking from Dubai where he was in contact with delegates in Saudi Arabia, said the group would include six from the coalition in exile, six from rebel factions, five from a Damascus-based opposition group and eight independent figures.
