OFFICIAL STATEMENT : Syrian Coalition accepts peace talks & says Assad must go

The General Assembly of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (GA) convened in Istanbul on November 9-11 to discuss, amongst other issues, the participation in “Geneva II” conference. The GA endorsed the Syrian Coalition’s readiness to participate in a Geneva conference based on the transfer of power to a transitional governing body (TGB).

This body should include full executive powers including presidential powers with control over military and security apparatus.  Furthermore, the Assad Regime and those associated with him will have no role in the transitional period and future Syria. The Syrian Coalition stipulates that prior to the conference access for relief convoys, including the Red Cross and the Red Crescent IFRC and other international relief agencies, to all besieged areas must be ensured, and prisoners, especially women and children, must be released. The Syrian Coalition stresses that in any international conference aimed to achieve a political transition, the Assad regime should commit to resolutions and principles set out by the international community, primarily the UN Resolution No. 67/262, May 15, 2013, the UNSC Resolution No. 2118, September 27, 2013, the UNSC presidential statement No. 739, October 02, 2013, the London 11 final communiqué, October 22, 2013, and the Arab League Resolution No. 7716, November 04, 2013. Furthermore, the GA has commissioned a committee of members from the Syrian Coalition to hold necessary consultations and liaise with the Revolutionary Forces inside and outside Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition)