Syrian opposition demands President Assad give up power

The opposition in Syria demands that President Bashar al-Assad must leave to begin a political transition in the country.

This is one of the contents that representatives of the opposition factions in Syria brought up at the conference on the establishment of the Geneva Negotiation Delegation taking place in the capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with about 140 opposition representatives, along with the United Nations Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura and the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister participating in this conference.

The capital Riyadh, where negotiations on Syria took place. Photo: Britannica.

The main purpose of the conference is to discuss the formation of a unified negotiating team. It is scheduled to last three days, but on the first day, opposition representatives mentioned the departure of President Bashar al-Assad and those close to his government so that a political transition can begin in Syria.

The opposition also warned countries against normalizing relations with the current Syrian government, saying this would lead to a lack of tolerance in the political transition and political negotiations. The opposition also accused the Syrian government of using weapons of mass destruction that are internationally banned.

Representatives of opposition factions have also agreed to form a delegation to negotiate with government representatives.SyriaAt the same time, it called on the United Nations to act to activate the political process in Geneva, as well as calling for direct, unconditional negotiations with the Syrian government delegation.

The opposition also called for avoiding escalation and preventing violations of previously reached agreements. The draft statement also affirmed the opposition's commitment to the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and stressed that the political transition is the responsibility of Syria and the international community, condemning extremism and terrorism in all its forms.

For his part, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura stressed that the future of Syria is the first priority and added that it is necessary to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

The United Nations will establish a framework for the political process in Syria and wants an opposition delegation including all parties representing the Syrian people to participate in negotiations in Geneva./.

According to VOV