Syrian opposition HNC meeting in Riyadh sees no transition role for Assad

Syria's main opposition blasted Iran's military presence in Syria and called on militias backed by Tehran to leave the country.

Saudi Minister of the Arabic Gulf affairs Thamer al Sabhan (C), Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al Jubeir (C-R) and UN special envoy for Syria crisis Staffan de Mistura (3rd L) pose for a group picture during the Syrian opposition meeting in Riyadh, on November 22, 2017.
AFP

Saudi Minister of the Arabic Gulf affairs Thamer al Sabhan (C), Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al Jubeir (C-R) and UN special envoy for Syria crisis Staffan de Mistura (3rd L) pose for a group picture during the Syrian opposition meeting in Riyadh, on November 22, 2017.

Syria's main opposition stuck by its demand on Thursday that regime leader Bashar al Assad play no role in an interim period under any UN-sponsored peace deal, despite speculation it could soften its stance because of Assad's battlefield strength. 

A gathering in Saudi Arabia of more than 140 participants from a broad spectrum of Syria's mainstream opposition also blasted Iran's military presence in Syria and called on Shia militias backed by Tehran to leave the country. 

"The participants stressed that this (the transition) cannot happen without the departure of Bashar al Assad and his clique at the start of the interim period," opposition groups said in a communique at the end of the meeting. 

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Iran-backed militias sowed "terrorism and sectarian strife" between Sunni and Shia Muslims, the communique said. 

The opposition groups met to seek a unified position ahead of UN-backed peace talks after two years of Russian military intervention that has helped Assad's regime recapture all of Syria's main cities. 

"The Syrian opposition has sent a message that it is ready to enter serious direct talks over a political transition in Syria and has a unified position and a vision for the future of Syria," Ahmad Ramadan, opposition spokesman, said. 

UN peace talks mediator Staffan de Mistura, preparing for a new round of Geneva talks, will visit Moscow on Friday, where he is expected to discuss the situation in Syria. 

There had been speculation that the opposition, at the meeting, could soften its demands that Kremlin ally Assad leave power before any transition. 

Riyad Hijab, a key opposition figure who led the High Negotiations Committee that represented the opposition at previous rounds of negotiations, abruptly quit this week. 

The opposition gathering took place around the same time Turkey, Russia and Iran held a trilateral meeting in the coastal resort city of Sochi in Russia to discuss the future of Syria.

Meanwhile, Syrian refugees appear to have lost hope with the high-level diplomatic meetings as TRT World's Shamim Chowdhary reports.

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Syria's civil war, now in its seventh year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and created the world's worst refugee crisis, driving more than 11 million people from their homes.

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