The United Syrian opposition hopes it can squeeze guarantees from
international backers for more military aid or a no-fly zone to
protect "liberated areas" in return for agreeing to join the new body,
ITAR-TASS reports. This was stated by the head of the Syrian National
Council, Mahmud al-Hamza.
A number of atomized groups making up the motley Syrian opposition
have agreed on Sunday to form a unified coalition set to represent all
opponents of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The deal was reached at talks in the Qatari capital Doha that have been going
since the start of last week, Al Jazeera television said.
However, the Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Gennady Gatilov,
says that the newly-created united opposition can be effective only if
it starts a dialogue with the Damascus government.
