A peace plan agreed to last month by 20 nations meeting in Vienna set a January 1 deadline for the start of negotiations between Assad’s government and opposition groups.
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“I think everybody is moving in the direction that they want to rapidly get to a political process and get it underway under United Nations auspices”. The Riyadh talks aim to form a unified bloc for the potential talks and opposition sources said some progress had been made on the first day.
The committee was to be made up of 23 people – six from the Syrian National Coalition, six from various rebel groups, six from local activists from across the country and five independent officials, according to a source quoted by Al-Jazeera.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Soner, a member of the main Syrian opposition National Coalition, said the participants in the Riyadh talks agreed on Wednesday on eight points, which he described as basic for the future of Syria. Few details were emerging from the talks but there were no signs of agreement yet on one of the most contentious issues, the fate of Assad.
Russian Federation launched air strikes in Syria 10 weeks ago, helping the Syrian army – backed by Iranian troops, Hezbollah fighters and allied militia – to contain rebel advances.
Ahrar al-Sham had agreed to attend the Riyadh talks despite the “lack of representation of jihadist factions at a level matching their… role” on the ground in Syria.
Khaled Khoja, who heads the SNC said in a statement from Istanbul (where he resides) that he was “optimistic” that the attendees would reach an agreement over “forming a negotiating team and on the principles of negotiations” with Assad’s government.
The Riyadh talks brought together 103 delegates from armed and non-armed groups – but excluded Kurdish groups. Among those participating in the meetings in Riyadh are hard-line Saudi-backed groups such as Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham, who had long rejected any negotiations with Assad’s government while he remained in power.
Speaking at a news conference earlier on Thursday, Al-Jubeir said that Assad has two choices, “either to leave through negotiations” or be forcibly removed from power, arguing that the Syrian people would not accept any other outcomes.
His comments were echoed by Gulf leaders meeting for the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the Saudi capital.
“These are representatives of all the opposition factions, political and military, and they are going to be the decision makers in terms of the political settlement”, said Akbik.
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The United States and its allies are calling on the opposition to work toward a consensus ahead of the negotiations meant to lead to a transitional period in Syria and Assad’s eventual removal.
