Saudi FM Meets Head of Syrian Opposition Coalition
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Tuesday received a delegation from the new Syrian opposition bloc, the National Coalition, headed by its chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
They discussed "developments in Syria and all ongoing international efforts on this matter."
The group says it is committed to building a provisional government composed of representatives of all ethnic and religious groups in conflict-ridden Syria, where rights groups say over 41,000 people have been killed since an uprising erupted in March 2011.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Saudi minister urged the international community to have a unified position over Syria in light of the formation of the opposition coalition last month.
"We see in forming the new Syrian coalition an important positive step towards uniting the opposition under one banner," told reporters.
"We hope to see a similar step towards uniting the positions and views of the international community in dealing with the Syrian issue," he added.
The Syrian National Coalition was formed in Doha on November 11 following world pressures on the opposition to unite.
The situation in Syria is "unfortunately deteriorating with more victims, displaced, and severe destruction in Syrian cities caused by the regime," the foreign minister said.
"This makes the political transfer of power more urgent to preserve Syria's land and people."
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly slammed the deadly crackdown by President Bashar Assad's troops on opponents and openly called for arming rebels there.
Since the start of the Syrian uprising, Russia and China have sided with Assad's regime and have repeatedly obstructed any U.N. Security Council action against Damascus.
Prince Saud said that a "change" in Russia's stance towards Syria "will pave the way for resolving the Syrian crisis."
Source: Agence France Presse
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