22/10/2013 10:20
Syria conflict: London to host key opposition talks
Arab and Western foreign ministers are to meet Syrian opposition officials in London in an effort to persuade them to attend the next round of peace talks, the BBC reported.
A key group in Syria's main opposition alliance is threatening to boycott the talks, expected next month in Geneva.
It says any deal must see President Bashar al-Assad step down, while Damascus says that is not on the table.
But the ministers will say opposition unity is vital if peace talks are to have any chance of success.
In London, foreign ministers from 11 countries - the so-called Friends of Syria group - will try to lay the groundwork for what is known as the Geneva II conference.
Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are also expected to reaffirm their view that the conference must be about a political transition in Syria away from the Assad regime.
Speaking ahead of the London meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry stressed that Syria's opposition would never agree to President Assad staying in power.
"If he (Assad) thinks he's going to solve problems by running for re-election, I can say to him, I think that certainly this war will not end as long as that's the case that he's there," Mr Kerry said after talks with Arab League officials in Paris.