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Arab and Western states recognised the National Coalition as the sole representative of Syrians today, as the Opposition bloc urged the US to review its blacklisting of jihadist rebels.
The declaration, issued at a ‘Friends of Syria’ meeting in Morocco, coincided with battlefield gains by jihadists fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and a rapidly deteriorating refugee situation as winter sets in.
“Today, full recognition is given to the National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people,” Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani told a news conference after the meeting his Government hosted.
The talks on the 21-month conflict rocking Syria brought together representatives from 114 countries, including about 60 ministers, the Syrian Opposition and international organisations.
They came just a day after US President Barack Obama endorsed the National Coalition, following a similar move by the European Union.
Russia, Assad’s most powerful ally, expressed surprise, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying “the US has decided to place all its bets on an armed victory of the National Coalition”.
The Friends of Syria again called on Assad to stand down, and stressed that his regime would not escape punishment for violations of international law.
A statement also warned Damascus against using chemical weapons, saying this “would draw a serious response from the international community”.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague described the growing recognition of the National Coalition as “real progress”.
“Then the important thing is to channel more assistance through them — in our case... non-lethal assistance... and then of course we need more humanitarian aid.”
Those at the meeting also called for unimpeded access for humanitarian groups inside Syria.
Coalition spokesman Yaser Tabbara underlined hopes the Marrakesh meeting would help alleviate a mounting humanitarian crisis and support the needs of “liberated” areas, in terms of salaries and services, which the group estimates at nearly $500 million per month.
Tabbara said aid pledged at the meeting amounted to “about $145 million” including $100 from Saudi Arabia and $14 million from the US.
“There is a humanitarian disaster right now, and that requires more than what was pledged today. But what was pledged today was a solid first step,” Tabbara told AFP.
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