The United States Tuesday welcomed the decision by Syria’s rebel Opposition National Coalition to take part in mooted Geneva peace talks.
The United States Tuesday welcomed the decision by Syria's rebel Opposition National Coalition to take part in mooted Geneva peace talks.
"This is a significant step forward in the process to convene the Geneva conference, the goal of which is... establishing by mutual consent of the two negotiating delegations a transitional governing body exercising full executive powers," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
"We also welcome the inclusion of representatives of the Kurdish National Coalition within the Syrian Coalition, ensuring the Coalition is more inclusive of Syria's diversity," she stressed.
Syria's main opposition grouping said Monday it will attend peace talks but only on the condition that President Bashar al-Assad transfers power and is excluded from any transition process.
However the Syrian government, while expressing willingness to attend the proposed Geneva conference, insists that Assad's departure from power is not up for discussion.
Psaki noted that "the Coalition cited the need for progress on humanitarian issues ahead of a Geneva II meeting, "notably permitting humanitarian access to besieged areas and the release of female and child prisoners."
She went on to say that the US will work closely with its international partners, including Russia, "to make progress on these humanitarian issues".
Meanwhile, jihadist groups including the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been busy for months distributing food and even school supplies.
Groups like the Al-Nusra and ISIL do not recognize the authority of the Coalition, which is based in Turkey.
The Syrian national military launched a wide-scale military operation in May 2013 in the country's main provinces to restore security and release citizens from terrorist threats.
Syria was hit by a violent unrest since mid-March 2011, where the Syrian government accuses foreign actors, mainly the Saudi Arabia and Turkey, of orchestrating the conflict by supporting the militant opposition groups with arms and money.
