Syria’s disparate opposition groups announced an agreement early Friday to send a united delegation to next week’s UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva, as international diplomatic efforts to end the six-year conflict intensify.
The announcement came on the second day of a Saudi-sponsored meeting in Riyadh, where around 140 opposition figures are gathered to unify their ranks before direct talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on November 28.
Several rounds of talks hosted by the United Nations have failed to bring an end to the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 330,000 people since 2011 and forced millions from their homes.
“We have agreed with the groups here in Riyadh, along with the Cairo and Moscow platforms, to form one united delegation to participate in the Geneva talks,” Syrian opposition member Bassma Kodmani told reporters in Riyadh.
Kodmani added that further meetings would be held on Friday to finalise the names and number of representatives each group would have in the 50-strong unified delegation.