BICOM

US President Barack Obama has recognised the National Coalition of Revolution and Opposition Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, as delegates from around seventy countries gather today in Morocco to coordinate support for the body in its efforts to remove President Assad’s regime.

Britain and France had already acknowledged the legitimacy of the National Coalition and although the United States had expressed concern that the body was too disparate, these appear to have been allayed as President Obama announced on ABC News yesterday “We’ve made a decision that the Syrian opposition coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime.”

The endorsement came on the eve of today’s Friends of Syria conference in Morocco that will be attended by representatives of governments from across the world, including Foreign Secretary William Hague. Opposition forces in Syria have recently scored a number of significant gains against Assad’s troops, notably taking control of a large military base near Aleppo and trading fire in southern Damascus. With the 20-month old conflict possibly nearing an end, the Friends of Syria conference is one element of international attempts to strengthen a unify the National Coalition, and thus help prevent the prospect of a dangerous power vacuum in a post-Assad Syria.

Today’s Friends of Syria meeting is not expected to endorse military aid to opposition forces, but instead provide moral and humanitarian support to the National Coalition. However, a report in the Telegraph online this morning claims that the UK is making preparations for providing military support. The article quotes a Whitehall source saying, “We have not got into precise details of planning, or the sort of conversations about who would arm who but this is an ongoing discussion. We have said we are keeping all options open and we mean it.”