Gulf states recognize Syrian opposition as legitimate leadership

The Arab League has officially recognized the coalition of opposition in Syria as the legitimate political representative of the country. The newly assembled National Coalition of the Syrian Powers of Revolution and Opposition, intended to present a united front in the face of President Bashar Assad’s violent efforts to suppress the Syria Free Army, has been named “the legitimate representative and main interlocutor with the Arab League.” Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, said: “The Arab League ministerial council welcomes the agreement that the Syrian opposition parties reached … and calls on the other opposition parties to join this coalition” and that the ministers “urged regional and international organizations to recognize it as a legitimate representative for the aspirations of the Syrian people,” and called it “a legitimate representative and a primary negotiator with the Arab League”. The coalition has pledged to begin setting up a transitional government once it gained international recognition.