Opposition meet in Doha a 'war declaration': Syria

DAMASCUS - Agence France-Presse

Syrian President Bashar Assad. AP Photo

A meeting of the Syrian opposition hosted by the Qatari capital amounted to a "declaration of war," the country's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Muqdad, said on Wednesday.
 
"The Doha meeting was a declaration of war. These people [the opposition] don't want to solve the issue peacefully through the mechanisms of the UN," Muqdad told AFP.
 
"We read the Doha document and they reject any dialogue with the government." Opposition factions met in Doha, Qatar for four days until Sunday, when they agreed to set up the National Coalition and bring together rebel forces under a supreme military council, as well as establish a judicial commission for rebel areas.
 
They plan to form a provisional government once the coalition has been widely recognised internationally.
 
France on Tuesday became the first Western country to recognise the coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
 
The United States has recognised the coalition, but stopped short of treating it as the only legitimate representative of the Syrians.
 
The National Coalition's declaration also included an outright rejection of any negotiation with the regime.
 
The regime of President Bashar al-Assad has long accused rebels of being funded and mobilised by foreign powers.
 
"We are ready to discuss with the Syrian opposition which is led in Syria and not led or fabricated elsewhere," said Muqdad. "We want to participate to a national dialogue with everybody who wants to solve the issue peacefully." Muqdad's statements were the first Syrian official reaction to the Doha meeting.