MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – A bloc of moderate opposition parties in Syria plans to participate in a peace conference next month that was earlier dismissed by insurgents on the ground, the group's head said Tuesday.
The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC) is currently in talks with other opposition groups about sending a unified delegation to the Geneva-2 talks, Hassan Abdel Azim said.
Other opposition groups had previously accused the NCC, comprising a dozen leftist parties, of possible affiliation with the ruling Syrian regime.
The UN-backed conference, tentatively set for November 23, has been lobbied for by Russia and the United States, which took responsibility for bringing the Syrian government and the opposition, respectively, to the negotiating table.
A number of Syrian armed opposition groups have said they would not attend Geneva-2, with some even calling participation in it “treason,” though the regime in Damascus indicated willingness to take part.
The NCC will discuss participation and try to coordinate the agenda with other political opposition groups in Syria in the coming weeks, Abdel Azim said on Voice of Russia radio.
He said partners for dialogue include the oppositional Syrian National Coalition, but made no comment about an earlier decision of its core constituent, the Syrian National Council, to boycott Geneva-2.
