(Zaman Al Wasl)- Staffan De Mistura, the U.N. Syria envoy, to meet with representatives of Syria’s moderate rebels and with the head of the Syrian National Coalition on June 4, source told Zaman al-Wasl.
De Mistura, who is presiding over the Geneva peace consultations, is intensifying efforts to bridge the gab with Syrian rebels and the National Coalition since both parties have rejected to attend the third round of Geneva peace talks over Syria.
De Mistura, who will meet Khaled al-Khoja on June 4 and FSA representatives, said he wants the consultations to enable him to find common ground based on the 2012 Geneva Communique, a document that set out guidelines for ending the violence and launching a political transition, according to Reuters.
Two weeks ago, de Mistura received an official rejection by the Western-backed opposition and armed groups to attend the planned Geneva talks.
Syrian opposition groups made clear its condition to attend any talks which says Bashar al-Assad has no role in Syria's future according to 2012 Geneva Communique.
De Mistura also will meet with Ahmed Tomeh, head of Coalitions’ interim government, according to the meetings schedule.
Syrian armed groups rejected an invitation to U.N. consultations in Geneva, according to a letter posted online.
The letter from 30 opposition armed groups to de Mistura accused him of abandoning his neutrality and "standing on the side of one party without the other".
De Mistura has repeatedly tried to clarify remarks on Assad that he made in February, saying his words was taken out of context and he meant the Syrian president was part of the solution for reducing violence.
The armed groups gave four reasons for rejecting De Mistura's invitation, including "continuing to work with the regime despite its loss of all forms of legitimacy".
Meanwhile, a number of Syrian opposition factions will gather in Cairo next month to form a new coalition as an alternative to an exiled West-backed alliance, officials said Saturday, according to AFP.
More than 200 figures from the armed and civilian opposition factions are to attend the June 8-9 gathering and discuss a roadmap aimed at ending the four-year war in Syria.
The new grouping would offer an alternative to the National Coalition, the exiled opposition bloc that is widely recognized and supported by Western and Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
"Arab, Kurdish and all faiths will attend the meeting to elect a political committee to adopt a roadmap and a policy charter," Haytham Manna, a veteran opposition figure and a key organizer of the event, told AFP.
The new coalition would be called the Syrian National Opposition and would be "totally different" from the National Coalition, he said.
"It will be a Syrian-Syrian meeting, 100 percent financed by us, not controlled by anyone, and managed by someone with a pure Syrian agenda," Manna said of the June conference.
Egypt confirmed the meeting, saying it would be a gathering of "broad Syrian opposition and national forces".
The objective of the conference was to "express a broader vision of the Syrian opposition spectrum... to work towards ending the Syrian crisis," said the foreign ministry.
Manna said Egypt would only host the conference and "not interfere" in it.
He said the new grouping would be ready to negotiate with representatives of President Bashar Assad's government.
The talks would be "on the basis of the Geneva declaration, which is based on the transfer of all military and civilian authorities... to a transitional government," he said.
Members of the new group would also meet with de Mistura, after the Cairo conference.
The conference was planned during a meeting in January that was attended by the opposition tolerated in Damascus, as well as members of the exiled National Coalition.
At that meeting, participants had said the goal of the new alliance would be "to agree on a unified political vision and to unify the opposition's efforts".
Manna said that Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Syria's opposition, also wants to host a separate meeting in June or July of different Syrian political and military opposition groups, except jihadis, to prepare for a post Assad era.
The Syrian conflict has killed more than 220,000 people, uprooted half the population and left the country in ruins since it erupted as a peaceful protest movement in March 2011. (With AFP, Reuters)
De Mistura, who is presiding over the Geneva peace consultations, is intensifying efforts to bridge the gab with Syrian rebels and the National Coalition since both parties have rejected to attend the third round of Geneva peace talks over Syria.
De Mistura, who will meet Khaled al-Khoja on June 4 and FSA representatives, said he wants the consultations to enable him to find common ground based on the 2012 Geneva Communique, a document that set out guidelines for ending the violence and launching a political transition, according to Reuters.
Two weeks ago, de Mistura received an official rejection by the Western-backed opposition and armed groups to attend the planned Geneva talks.
Syrian opposition groups made clear its condition to attend any talks which says Bashar al-Assad has no role in Syria's future according to 2012 Geneva Communique.
De Mistura also will meet with Ahmed Tomeh, head of Coalitions’ interim government, according to the meetings schedule.
Syrian armed groups rejected an invitation to U.N. consultations in Geneva, according to a letter posted online.
The letter from 30 opposition armed groups to de Mistura accused him of abandoning his neutrality and "standing on the side of one party without the other".
De Mistura has repeatedly tried to clarify remarks on Assad that he made in February, saying his words was taken out of context and he meant the Syrian president was part of the solution for reducing violence.
The armed groups gave four reasons for rejecting De Mistura's invitation, including "continuing to work with the regime despite its loss of all forms of legitimacy".
Meanwhile, a number of Syrian opposition factions will gather in Cairo next month to form a new coalition as an alternative to an exiled West-backed alliance, officials said Saturday, according to AFP.
More than 200 figures from the armed and civilian opposition factions are to attend the June 8-9 gathering and discuss a roadmap aimed at ending the four-year war in Syria.
The new grouping would offer an alternative to the National Coalition, the exiled opposition bloc that is widely recognized and supported by Western and Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
"Arab, Kurdish and all faiths will attend the meeting to elect a political committee to adopt a roadmap and a policy charter," Haytham Manna, a veteran opposition figure and a key organizer of the event, told AFP.
The new coalition would be called the Syrian National Opposition and would be "totally different" from the National Coalition, he said.
"It will be a Syrian-Syrian meeting, 100 percent financed by us, not controlled by anyone, and managed by someone with a pure Syrian agenda," Manna said of the June conference.
Egypt confirmed the meeting, saying it would be a gathering of "broad Syrian opposition and national forces".
The objective of the conference was to "express a broader vision of the Syrian opposition spectrum... to work towards ending the Syrian crisis," said the foreign ministry.
Manna said Egypt would only host the conference and "not interfere" in it.
He said the new grouping would be ready to negotiate with representatives of President Bashar Assad's government.
The talks would be "on the basis of the Geneva declaration, which is based on the transfer of all military and civilian authorities... to a transitional government," he said.
Members of the new group would also meet with de Mistura, after the Cairo conference.
The conference was planned during a meeting in January that was attended by the opposition tolerated in Damascus, as well as members of the exiled National Coalition.
At that meeting, participants had said the goal of the new alliance would be "to agree on a unified political vision and to unify the opposition's efforts".
Manna said that Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Syria's opposition, also wants to host a separate meeting in June or July of different Syrian political and military opposition groups, except jihadis, to prepare for a post Assad era.
The Syrian conflict has killed more than 220,000 people, uprooted half the population and left the country in ruins since it erupted as a peaceful protest movement in March 2011. (With AFP, Reuters)
Zaman Al Wasl
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