Key anti-Assad groups pledge support for Syria's new administration
Two major Syrian opposition groups who worked for years against the government of now-toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad have pledged support for the country's new administration.
Representatives of the Syrian National Coalition and the Negotiation Commission voiced support for new interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who commanded an Islamist-led rebel offensive that deposed al-Assad in December, ending years of bloody civil war.
Both groups met with al-Sharaa in Damascus on Tuesday and handed over files associated with their work, the Syrian presidency said late on Tuesday evening, amid speculation that the two blocs will announce their dissolution.
Last month, the new administration announced it would abolish the 2012 constitution, dissolve parliament, disband all armed factions and integrate them into the state institutions.
The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) was founded in Qatar in 2012 as an umbrella opposition organization and soon gained recognition by several countries as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
The Negotiation Commission was created in 2015 as an umbrella political body of the opposition forces in Saudi Arabia that initially supported the rebellion against al-Assad's rule.
The two blocs on Tuesday expressed support for Syria's new leadership to "reunify the country, achieve security and stability" and implement a transitional map leading to "fair and free elections," the Syrian presidency added in a statement, according to state news agency SANA.
Private broadcaster Syria TV, which is close to Syria's new rulers, reported that SNC has closed its office in Istanbul.
SNC is currently holding meetings with the new Syrian administration to discuss the fate of its employees and the possibility of integrating them into state institutions amid a likely move to disband the group, the broadcaster added.
After his appointment as Syria's interim president last month, al-Sharaa promised to form an inclusive government, build strong state institutions in the war-shattered country and pave the way for free elections.
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