Syrian opposition opens ‘embassy’ in Qatar

DOHA: The Syrian opposition opened yesterday its first “embassy” in Qatar, a day after the opponents of Bashar Assad were given Damascus’ seat in the Arab League.
The head of the Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib and Qatari State Minister for Foreign Affairs Khaled Al-Attiya inaugurated the representative office dubbed the “Embassy of the Syrian National Coalition.”
The Syrian Embassy itself remains closed since diplomatic ties were severed between Gulf states and Syria in November 2011 over its crackdown on dissent that has morphed into a civil war, that has killed more than 70,000 people.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry yesterday criticized as a “dangerous precedent” the Arab League’s decision to allocate Syria’s long-vacant seat to the Syrian opposition.
Al-Khatib took Syria’s seat at the League on Tuesday as Arab leaders gathered in Doha for their annual summit.
Russia called the Arab League’s decision to award the seat to National Coalition “illegal and indefensible”.
“In terms of international law, the League’s decision on Syria is illegal and indefensible because the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was and is the legitimate representative member-state at the United Nations,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Assad appealed to the leaders of a five-nation economic forum meeting in South Africa to help end his country’s two-year conflict. Assad’s appeal came in a letter sent to the BRICS forum of emerging market powers. The World Bank says these countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are driving global economic growth.