Turkey, Arab states ponder recognition of Syrian opposition
As Western and Arab nations quarrel over what diplomatic measures to take at the Feb. 24 “Friends of Syria” meeting in Tunisia, Syria’s nascent political opposition may soon win official recognition from the frustrated opponents of President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled regime.
“We are expecting recognition of the Syrian National Council (SNC) from some of our [Gulf state] brethren as well as Turkey” ahead of the meeting, SNC liaison to the Arab League Ahmet Ramadan told Today’s Zaman on Sunday. The increasing likelihood that the SNC -- a coalition of anti-Assad voices which has become Syria’s de facto opposition group -- will soon see official recognition comes as nations seek a way outside of the UN to punish the Syrian regime for its almost one-year-long crackdown on opposition groups.
“There are many divisions within the SNC, and so there are reservations about recognizing them. But given the recent veto in the UN, it’s a unilateral action that countries can take to show their support for the opposition movement,” said Oytun Orhan, a Syria expert at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), in a Monday interview with Today’s Zaman.
Currently, only Libya's post-revolutionary interim government has recognized the SNC, and acts as the group's official diplomatic liaison.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-271331-turkey-arab-states-ponder-recognition-of-syrian-opposition.html