Former opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib has resigned from the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee over a dispute related to reforms inside the key negotiations body, sources said.
Khatib, who was the first president of the Syrian National Coalition in 2012, said in his resignation letter on Saturday that the reform process inside the committee had been blocked, allowing United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura to waste more time and to follow a policy of distraction.
Sources said Khatib’s resignation is not related to the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Gulf countries, despite the strong influence of Doha and Riyadh inside the Syrian opposition.
The Committee was founded in December 2015 during a conference held in the Saudi capital Riyadh with the aim of representing the Syrian opposition in the Geneva peace talks. It is led by Riyad Hijab, who served as prime minister of Syria from June to August 2012.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
