Beirut: A Syrian opposition meeting began in Riyadh on Wednesday in a bid to unify the group’s position ahead of peace talks backed by the United Nations to end the country’s six-year civil war.
Saudi Arabia backs the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) group whose leader, former Syrian prime minister Riad Hijab, resigned on Monday without explanation.
The summit comes after a surprise visit by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to Russia a day earlier to meet President Vladimir Putin, who later discussed the conflict with US President Donald Trump and other Middle East leaders.
Al Assad has made major gains against opposition forces and Daesh militants with the help of Russia as well as Iran.
Saudi Arabia—which backs Syrian rebels—has long maintained that Al Assad should have no role in any transition to bring the war there to an end.
UN peace talks mediator Staffan de Mistura urged opposition figures gathered at a five-star hotel in Riyadh to have the “hard discussions” necessary to reach a “common line”.
“A strong unified team is a creative partner in Geneva and we need that, one who can actually explore more than one way to arrive to the goals that we need to have,” he said in opening remarks.
It was not immediately clear how Hijab’s absence would affect the talks.
Several opposition figures said he had insisted on Al Assad’s departure from power as a prequisite for UN-sponsored Geneva talks.
Some opposition members have hinted that the new communique would drop the long standing demand by the Riyadh-based main opposition.
The summit, which Saudi Arabia called “expanded”, was opened to more than 140 opposition figures from the Turkey-based coalition and mainstream Free Syrian Army factions as well as independents including about a dozen women.
The HNC has represented the Syrian opposition at previous Geneva talks, while a number of other political opposition groups and figures backed by other countries including Russia and Egypt also exist.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said the only solution to the conflict was through a consensus that would achieve the demands of the Syrian people.
“There is no solution to the crisis without a Syrian consensus that would achieve the demands of the Syrian people on the basis of Geneva 1 and (UN Security Council) resolution 2254,” he said.
The Moscow group of Syrian political activists led by a former deputy prime minister Qadri Jamil said they turned down an invitation to attend the conference, accusing the members of the main HNC opposition of thwarting efforts to set up a single delegation.
“We consider the effort of some of the opposition to exploit the meeting as a platform for their own political ends goes against Saudi Arabia’s efforts to form a unified delegation,” Jamil said in a statement.
Russia has led an campaign to push for the merger of the Moscow group into a single delegation with the HNC. The main opposition body says it is a stooge of Moscow to sow divisions within their ranks.
The opposition meeting is set to last until Friday, when a joint statement is expected.
Several rounds of UN talks in Geneva between the Damascus government and the opposition have made little progress since the Syria conflict erupted in 2011.
Timeline: Diplomatic initiatives
Since the start of Syria’s war in 2011, several diplomatic initiatives have stumbled over the future of President Bashar Al Assad. Here is a recap:
January 2012: Two months after an initial bid to end the violence, leading Arab diplomats adopt a fresh plan that would transfer power from Al Assad to a coalition cabinet. The Damascus government rejects the proposal and vows to crush rebel movements.
June 30, 2012: In Geneva, global powers draw up plan to install a transition government, but which does not spell out what would happen to Al Assad. Among those drafting the proposal are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, along with representatives from the Arab League, Turkey and the European Union. Members of the so-called Action Group for Syria differ over what the plan really means, however, with the US saying that it paves the way to a “post-Al Assad” period. China and Russia, which are allies of Al Assad, insist it is up to Syrians to decide their future.
January 2014: First talks between Syrian opposition groups and the government are held in Geneva under the auspices of Russia and the US.
February 15: UN mediator Lakhdar Ebrahimi (above) calls an end to the talks after a second fruitless session, and resigns.
October 30, 2015: A month after Russian forces launch an intervention to save Al Assad regime from collapse several countries meet in Vienna to explore the chance of a political solution. They include France, Russia and the US, and also, for the first time, Iran. In November, a transition outline is drawn up but the question of Al Assad’s future is still not resolved.
February 27, 2016: A ceasefire is imposed by Russia and the United States.
April 22: The truce is shattered by the fierce bombardment of Aleppo by regime forces. In March and April, three rounds of indirect talks take place in Geneva between Syrian rebels and the government under UN auspices. They are stymied by questions regarding a political transition, and ceasefire violations.
August 9: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to repair ties broken by supporting opposing sides in the conflict.
December 22: Syrian forces regain control of Aleppo with backing from Russia.
December 29: Moscow announces a ceasefire between the government and rebels and a plan to hold peace talks sponsored also by Iran and Turkey, in Kazakhstan.
January 17, 2017: Russia says that talks between the government and rebels should lead to a ceasefire. Most rebel groups agree to attend the Astana talks, with the exception of Ahrar Al Sham, which counts thousands of fighters in central and northern Syria.
January 19: Al Assad calls on rebels to lay down their arms in exchange for an amnesty, but rules out any discussion of his departure.
January 20: A Turkish official says it is no longer “realistic” to insist that Al Assad step down.
