The decision made by Mohammed Alloush, the chief negotiator for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) that was formed at the Riyadh conference, reveals the Syrian opposition’s desire to change the composition of the negotiating team to conform to the changes taking place on the ground in Syria.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the HNC is inclined to give key positions in the negotiating delegation to “dissident diplomats who have the necessary expertise to move the negotiation process forward”.

A spokesman for the HNC explained that the committee would meet in Riyadh within the next 10 days to decide on the composition of the negotiating delegation and its work in Geneva, and indicated that changes will be made to the delegation.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Jawish Ihsanoglu said yesterday that Ankara offered to carry out a joint special operation with Washington against extremists in Syria but without the involvement of Kurdish forces that are supported by Washington but considered by Turkey as “terrorist” forces. Washington did not immediately comment on the offer.

On the other hand, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir confirmed yesterday that there is an imbalance in the international community that is impeding it from arriving at a common solution to the Syrian crisis. At a press conference with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in Riyadh yesterday, he said that there is an international consensus that a political solution in Syria should be based on Geneva 1 and added that military support for the Syrian opposition continues to be provided.