Rebel Demands and Saudi Decision on US Relations Put Syria Peace Talks in Jeopardy

Opposition are demanding Assad be removed from power and Saudi Arabia says it will no longer work with the U.S. on Syria

Reason

Next month's expected Syria peace talks are in jeopardy after representatives of Assad's opposition said that they refuse to attend unless Assad is removed from power and the Saudi government indicated that it would not cooperate with the U.S. on policy relating to Syria.

Today's announcement that the Saudis will not be cooperating with the U.S. on Syria is the latest example of the Saudi government expressing its displeasure with the perceived lack of intervention in Syria. Last Friday, it was reported that Saudi Arabia would not take its seat at the United Nations Security Council because of frustrations with the organization's policy towards Syria and other countries in the Middle East, a move that the Russian government described as "strange."

From Reuters:

(Reuters)—Plans for talks to end the fighting in Syria were in jeopardy on Tuesday after the opposition refused to attend unless President Bashar al-Assad is forced from power and a furious Saudi Arabia made clear it would no longer co-operate with the United States over the civil war.

Western nations and their Middle Eastern allies pressed Syria's fractured opposition to join the proposed peace talks, although Assad has indicated he will not bow to opposition demands that he should step down as a pre-condition.

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