(From left to right) Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Morocco's Foreign Minister Saad Eddine El-Othmani, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at a meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People in Marrakesh, Morocco, Wednesday. — AP MARRAKESH, Morocco – Arab and Western states recognized the National Coalition as the sole representative of Syrians Wednesday. Addressing the “Friends of the Syrian People” conference here, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal pledged the Saudi government's donation of $100 million as a help through the coalition to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people reeling under the brutal Assad regime. Prince Saud called on the international community to unify their position in ending the Syrian crisis. “The Kingdom sees that unity of the opposition removes any justification or excuse for the continued split in the international community over the Syrian issue,” he said. “Today, full recognition is given to the National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people,” Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Eddine El-Othmani told a news conference after the meeting his government hosted in the southern city of Marrakesh. The talks on the 21-month conflict rocking Syria brought together representatives from 130 countries, including about 60 ministers, the Syrian opposition and international organizations. They came just a day after US President Barack Obama endorsed the National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, following a similar move by EU. In its communique, the Friends of Syria again called on Assad to stand down, and stressed his regime would not escape punishment for violations of international law. It also warned Damascus against using chemical weapons. British Foreign Secretary William Hague described the growing recognition of the National Coalition as “real progress.” “The important thing is to channel more assistance through them – in our case... non-lethal assistance... and then of course we need more humanitarian aid.” – Agencies
