Syrian opposition 'serious' on transition without Assad

A senior member of the Syrian opposition has said that they are “serious” about forming a transitional governing body without the leader of the country’s regime.

The Syrian opposition is “serious about establishing a Transitional Governing Body (TGB) without the head of the regime, Bashar al-Assad,” Nasr al-Hariri, the head of the opposition’s delegation, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), told reporters.

Hariri’s comments came late Friday in the Saudi capital Riyadh after he was selected as chief negotiator for the Syrian National Coalition ahead of Syrian peace talks in Geneva.

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He called on the UN to supervise any talks to resolve the seven-year conflict in Syria.

“The upcoming round of negotiations in Geneva should be direct and serious, as well as follow a clear agenda,” Hariri said.

He urged all parties to “put all issues on the negotiations table”.

A total of 36 members of the HNC will attend the Syrian peace talks in Geneva next week.

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On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to discuss Syria.

During the meeting, the three leaders agreed to gather a congress of Syrian groups to advance a political solution for the war-torn nation.