DAMASCUS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The exiled opposition's recent surprising desire for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad' s leadership mirrors the change in the western stance toward Syria, mainly because of the long-time impasse on the battlefield and the rising of radical groups, analysts say.
The head of the main opposition coalition in exile, Moaz Al- khatib, on Monday urged the Damascus government to start talks for al-Assad's departure, a motion unlikely to be accepted by the Syrian government, which has yet to respond.
Al-Khatib, who has recently been elected as the head of the Syrian National Coalition, called on Assad to give his vice- president, Farouk al-Sharaa, the task of opening negotiations and said it aims at helping the Syrian administration stand down peacefully and spare further bloodshed.
"The ball is now in the regime's court. They will either say yes or no," he said.
Al-Khatib's recent remarks are the third one to be made in the same regard after he made surprising statements last week saying that he accepted dialoguing representatives of the Syrian administration on condition of releasing detainees and renewing traveling documents for opposition abroad.
Al-Khatib's surprising step has also been welcomed by the United States.
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