The opposition Syrian National Coalition is willing to negotiate a peace deal to end the country’s civil war but President Bashar al-Assad must step down and cannot be a party to any settlement, members agreed after debating a controversial initiative by their president.
The meeting of the 70-member Western, Arab and Turkish-backed coalition began on Thursday before Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem is due for talks in Moscow, one of Assad’s last foreign allies, and as United Nations mediator Lakhdar Brahimi renews efforts for a deal.
After an angry late night session in which coalition president Moaz Alkhatib came under strong criticism from Islamist and liberal members alike for proposing talks with Bashar Assad’s government without setting what they described as clear goals, the coalition adopted a political document that demands Syrian president Bashar Assad’s removal and trial for the bloodshed, members said.
A draft document seen by Reuters that was circulated for debate said Bashar Assad cannot be party to any political solution and has to be tried, but did not directly call for his removal.
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