UK urges Syrian opposition coalition not to reject talks

Britain calls on the foreign-backed Syria opposition coalition to reconsider pulling out of international talks on the crisis, after the group said it would not attend the upcoming Friends of Syria meeting in Rome and scheduled talks in Washington and Moscow.

The British government said on Saturday it was “essential” to keep dialogue going between international powers and the coalition, insisting “now is not the time to give up” on talks.

The so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said in a statement on Friday that it will not attend several international meetings with key international players in the country’s crisis talks.

It said it will not take part in a Friends of Syria meeting in Rome next Thursday and further scheduled talks in Russia and the United States.

“The UK is preparing a further offer of support to the National Coalition in Rome, and we are urging them to reconsider their decision,” said a Foreign Office spokeswoman.

“It is important to have coalition participation, and we strongly urge members to help win the arguments for achieving more support for the opposition.”

This comes as the UK has been playing a major role in fanning the flames of unrest in the Middle Eastern country, as it provides militants with communication services and trains the leaders of armed rebels in the country, contributing to the killing of innocent civilians in the region.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

The Syrian government has said that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and that a very large number of the militants operating in the country are foreign nationals.