Syria meeting in Riyadh

As talks of Russia, Turkey and Iran’s presidents meeting in Sochi dominate the agenda, a significant meeting was held in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia gathered the Syrian groups dubbed the “opposition”. On Foreign Minister Adel El Cubeyr’s invitation, opposition members from some 140 movements gathered in Riyadh.

The groups are fragmented and are the weakest they have ever been. Riyadh is trying to gather the groups in question in a single front before the 8th Geneva talks to be held on November 28. The goal is to participate in the Genova talks as a single delegation.

All attempts towards the Syrian crisis to date have failed, but the situation is now different in the field. At a time when Assad is gaining territory, other groups have no option but to either come together in a united front or disperse.

Some of the “opposition” groups are backed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while on the other hand there is the Istanbul-based coalition.

And there are other groups based in Moscow and Cairo that take a more reconciliatory position towards the regime. Gathering this multi-part and weak mix together is said to be a difficult undertaking.