Khatib blames regional countries for prolonging Syria war

Former Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib says he's open to negotiations with both the Syrian and Iranian governments as a matter of "principle" to help end the bloodshed in Syria.
Mouaz al-Khatib, Former President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces speaks during the 11th US-Islamic World Forum, in Doha, on June 10, 2014. This years Forum is entitled Islam and Inclusion focuses on challenges of inclusion within Muslim communities around the world, especially in the context of governance, academia, religious institutions and civil society. The US-Islamic World Forum is a Brookings Institutions Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, in pa
Moaz al-Khatib, former president of the Syrian National Coalition, speaks during the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, June 10, 2014. - FAISAL AL-TAMIMI/AFP/Getty Images
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Antoun Issa
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DOHA, Qatar — The Syrian political opposition is still suffering from competing regional influences, undermining its effectiveness, former opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib told Al-Monitor.

“The opposition faces a major problem … the regional and international powers are contributing to the opposition’s division,” the former head of the Syrian National Coalition said in an exclusive interview at the Brookings Institution’s US-Islamic World Forum in Doha.

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