Ahrar al-Sham, a Saudi-backed ultraconservative group that operates mainly in northern Syria, withdrew at the end of a two-day conference in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
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A peace plan agreed last month by 20 nations meeting in Vienna set a January 1 deadline for the start of talks between Mr Al Assad’s government and opposition groups. Not all of Syria’s armed factions are attending the talks, with jihadists such as the Islamic State group and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front excluded.
“These include suspending death sentences against Syrians convicted on charges of opposition to the regime, releasing prisoners and detainees, lifting sieges on besieged areas and allowing humanitarian convoys to reach the needy”, SPA said, quoting the statement issued at the end of the Thursday meeting.
Saudi King Salman, who received the Syrian delegation in al-Awja Palace after the end of the talks, said he hopes this step would lead to security, stability and justice in Syria.
The opposition is not only divided between rebel factions on the ground, who differ on ideology and compete for territory, but also between those factions and an array of political figures including both exiles and people who have remained in Damascus through much of the conflict.
Assad said his military position had improved in the fight against insurgent groups in the almost five-year war, but acknowledged that it was taking its toll.
US Secretary of State John Kerry had previously said the discussions in Riyadh were “making progress”. The groups also came to the conclusion they needed to form an inclusive body among them during the talks Thursday, which are aimed at ending the civil war that has raged in Syria for more than four years.
“This conference was an important step ahead of the next ISSG meeting next week”.
Assad told Spanish news agency EFE that Saudi Arabia, the USA and some Western countries “want terrorist groups to join the negotiations table”.
In the London press, Al-Quds Al-Arabi says negotiations would be a “mirage” while Russian Federation continues to bomb the opposition, and Al-Arab al-Alamiyah believes Russian Federation and Iran are “disturbed” by signs of opposition unity.
“There will be a meeting decided by (United Nations envoy Staffan) de Mistura in January”, Sager said, adding, “This will take place in the first 10 days of January”.
Kurdish fighters were also left out.
He says the “Saudis did a good job of destroying the October Vienna worldwide agreement”, and “returned the political solution to square one”.
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The Syrian Kurds’ exclusion from the talks in Riyadh is widely seen as a concession to Turkey, which with its large Kurdish population has been concerned about Kurdish autonomy in Syria and the YPG’s ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
