Opposition to attend 'Geneva 2'

Rebels drop Assad's ouster as precondition to negotiations

Syria's main political opposition group in exile agreed on Saturday to attend internationally sponsored peace talks, and said for the first time three rebel fighting forces also wanted to take part.

The agreement by the Syrian National Coalition - and the chance of fighters backing the process - will be a boost for Western supporters of the "Geneva 2" talks, seen as the most serious global effort yet to end the nearly three-year conflict.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government was not immediately available to comment on the prospect of rebel militia representatives playing a role at the negotiations to end fighting that has killed more than 100,000 people.

National Coalition spokesman Louay Safi told Reuters that the Soldiers of the Levant, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the Mujahideen Army all wanted "to have some representation within the delegation" at the talks on Wednesday in Montreux, Switzerland.

It was not immediately clear what role they might play.

Rebel brigades had previously rejected Geneva - demanding the removal of Assad before talks. Their support is seen as critical if any deals have any chance of being rolled out.

All three are established forces, through restrictions on journalists in Syria makes it impossible to give independent estimates of their size.

A fourth fighting group, the Islamic Front - thought to be bigger than the other three combined - was still deciding whether to attend, Safi added.

Al-Qaida-linked rebels, increasingly involved in the fighting, have shown no interest in a political process.

The fractured National Coalition itself has little influence on the ground in Syria.

Major Isam el Rayyes, spokesman of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, confirmed his group was now interested.

"The Syrian Revolutionaries Front and two other major fronts want to be represented at Geneva, but we will not send our brigade leaders," he said.

There was no immediate comment from the other two.

Coalition discussions to appoint a delegation were set to go into the night. Sources said meetings with the Islamic Front were also taking place in Istanbul.

The exiled coalition voted 58-14 with two abstentions and one blank vote at a meeting in Istanbul to attend the Wednesday Geneva 2 talks.

That meant just 75 of the around 120 opposition delegates took part in the secret ballot, in a sign that strong disagreements persist.

Western powers had pressed the opposition to commit to the talks, and, on Saturday, France welcomed the coalition's decision, vowing to make sure the discussions ended up setting up a transitional Syrian government with full executive powers.

'Brave choice'

"This brave choice ... is a choice to search for a peaceful solution," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Saturday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry called it a courageous vote in the interests of all the Syrian people who have suffered so horribly.

The coalition's decision had been delayed repeatedly as more than 40 members threatened to leave the body, and eventually shunned the vote.

One coalition member, Khaled Khoja, told Reuters on Saturday that the vote was illegitimate and that his group was considering a formal challenge.

"It was a tough vote", said the head of the coalition's media office, Khaled Saleh. The Geneva 2 process would be a "political and media battle, and on balance we decided that we must fight it alongside the war on the ground", he added.

Syrian officials have announced a delegation to attend the talks on Wednesday, though they dispute the invitation letter's focus on setting up a transitional authority, saying the priority is "to continue to fight terrorism" - a phrase they use to describe government's battle with increasingly radical rebels.

Reuters - AFP

(China Daily 01/20/2014 page11)