Syrian Opposition Groups to Support FSA

Photo Credit: Al Jazeera

According to Al Jazeera, more than 250 members of Syrian opposition groups have concluded a two-day meeting in Cairo, agreeing in general terms on support for the Free Syrian Army, the dissolution of the ruling Baath Party, and the exclusion of Assad or other senior regime figures from a place in the transition. However, the groups remain divided on other key issues, including potential foreign military intervention, the future role of religion, and the formation of a unified body to represent the opposition.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will reportedly lead a U.S. delegation to talks on the conflict in Syria being hosted by France this week, a U.S. official confirmed. France also said that Russia has refused to attend the meeting, which will be the third meeting of the group seeking to co-ordinate Western and Arab efforts to stop the violence in Syria. The United States, France, Britain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are leading members of the Friends, whose more than 60 members include most of the EU states and many countries making up the Arab League.

Additionally, John Hubbel Weiss writes that there will not be a military intervention in Syria, partially due to Washington’s uncertainty about what sort of rules would emerge in the aftermath of an intervention. An editorial in the Los Angeles Times suggests that “Russia continues to send maddeningly mixed signals about whether it recognizes that the time has come for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.”