Syrian opposition willing to hold peace talks

DAMASCUS – Moaz Alkhatib, the Syrian National Coalition leader, has said he was willing to hold peace talks with President Bashar al-Assads representatives in rebel-held areas of northern Syria. The aim of the talks would be to find a way for Mr Assad to leave power with the minimum of bloodshed and destruction, Mr Alkhatib said in a statement published on his Facebook page.Mr Alkhatib, a moderate cleric from Damascus, made his offer as opposition activists reported fighting had moved closer to central Damascus, following a rebel push into the east of the capital last week.If the regime is so concerned about sovereignty and does not want to venture out of Syrian territories, then there is a suitable solution, which is the liberated land in northern Syria, he said.There is an important question. Will the regime agree to leave with the minimum of blood and destruction?Mr Alkhatib last month offered to hold talks with Mr Assads ceremonial deputy Farouq al-Shara about an exit for Mr Assad if the authorities started releasing tens of thousands of political prisoners jailed since the eruption of the 22-month uprising.The United Nations said on Friday that it saw a glimmer of hope in Mr Alkhatibs offer of talks.UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said the offer was the most promising thing weve heard on Syria recently.Mr Feltman said on Friday that international Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi was exploring how to use Mr Alkhatibs offer to further the stalled bid to broker peace.Syrias uprising, which started as peaceful protests against four decades of autocratic rule by Assad and his late father, has turned into a violent sectarian conflict.The war is pitting Mr Assads minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam that has dominated Syria since 1960s, against the Sunni majority that had led the protest movement.