Syrian Opposition seeks support from Saudi defense minister

 Syrian National Coalition met Saudi Defense Minister, and the Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince Slaman bin Abdul Aziz in Saudi Arabia where the main stream opposition had discussed the latest developments in the Syrian conflict and the proper ways to achieve progress in the battlefield, a well-informed source told Zaman Alwasl.

Prince Salman stressed that the Saudi support for the Syrian people is not linked to this visit, according to Adib al-Shishakli, Coalition representative in the Kingdom.

The visit was for few hours, according to Shishakli, this visit is the first of its kind in terms of level, although Prince Salman met with the Coalition delegation on the sidelines of a summit in Doha, Qatar, but it was very quick, the Coalition representative said.

Ahmad Assi Jarba president of the national coalition revealed in a press statement that his visit to Saudi Arabia has achieved a lot to the Syrian opposition.

 The veteran dissidents Burhan Ghalioun, Michel Kilo and Farouk Tayfur, were among the delegates. ''They explained the situation inside Syria, and the need for instant support for the Syrian people, who suffer difficult circumstances.

''It is clear that Jarba dragged the spotlight again into the opposition work at the Arabic and international level.'' Analysts said to Zaman Alwasl.

The Prince meeting with Jarba encouraged the Arab states and the international community to meet with him as he met the Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, while supposed to go then to Paris and then to New York where he is visiting the United Nations hopes to attend the meetings of the Assembly, according to What Ban Ki-moon promised that opposition can be represented as a representative of the Syrian people if reaching a consensus president.

The conditions of Syrian residents in Saudi Arabia was one of the important issues which were discussed in the meeting. The delegates requested to take the special circumstances in Syria in account when dealing with them. 

More than 93,000 people have been killed since the Syria crisis started in March 2011, according to the United Nations, as largely peaceful protests against Assad's rule. It escalated into a civil war after opposition supporters took up arms to fight a brutal government crackdown on dissent.

Editing by Yusra Abo Hamed and Mohamed Hamdan