Pro-Saudi Syrian rebel group the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) has announced they are willing to share the transitional government “equally” with members of the current Syrian government, so long as President Assad is excluded.
In addition to Assad, the HNC insists they will not accept any veto power from the government, nor anyone else who is a “criminal,” though they didn’t make clear exactly what that means.
The Assad government has already rejected the idea of him being excluded outright, and given the size disparity probably won’t entertain an equal representation for the HNC, a rebel faction which only includes some smaller territorial holdings.
Rebels keep talking up the idea that fighting between the Assad government and al-Qaeda threatens the ongoing ceasefire, though so far it seems to be holding, and the prospect of some sort of settlement remains possible.
They don’t seem to have figured out that equal representation means both sides have veto power. Still, they are inching towards an agreement, just a few decades of haggling to go…