The president of the opposition Syrian Coalition, Ahmad Jarba, said the group would attend a proposed Geneva conference to end two and a half years of conflict in Syria if it aims to establish a transitional government with full powers.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, obtained by Reuters and dated 19 September, Jarba said the coalition "reaffirms its willingness to engage in a future Geneva Conference" but "all parties must…agree that the purpose of the conference will be the establishment of a transitional government with full executive powers" as stipulated by an agreement last year by international powers.
It was the first clear commitment by the Western and Arab-backed coalition to attend the proposed conference sponsored by the United States and Russia. The coalition has been dithering on whether to attend, especially after a chemical weapons attack on 21 August that killed hundreds of people in Damascus.
