President of the Syrian Coalition Khaled Khoja said he was optimistic the Syrian opposition will reach an agreement on a wide range of issues including laying out a unified vision of a political solution to the crisis. President Khoja expressed hope that participants will form a negotiating team and define the basic principles guiding the negotiation process.
“The Syrian opposition is willing to engage in a political solution to the crisis,” Khoja said. “We have the right to liberate our land form occupation by both the Russians and the Iranians. A political solution should not be only about ending the rule of Assad, but also about all invading forces withdrawing from all Syrian territory.”
President Khoja went on to say that the Riyadh meeting will be crucial in showing the true character of opposition figures taking part in the conference. He made clear the fact that as Saudi Arabia enjoys the confidence of all participants, it will play an important role in assisting the opposition with reaching an agreement.
President Khoja pointed out that the Syrian Coalition will submit the Document of Basic Principles for a Political Settlement with the hope of laying out a common document about the transitional period among all spectra of the opposition.
President Khoja stressed that the Syrian Coalition’s view of the solution has been in tune with that of the majority of rebel factions since the international envoy Staffan de Mistura began his mission. “The Syrian Coalition and rebel groups insist that a negotiated solution must be based on the 2012 of Geneva Communiqué,” President Khoja said. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Al-Sharq al-Awsat)
