Resigned Syrian opposition figure: We were asked to accept Assad or leave

 'A member of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee, Suheir Al-Atassi, who resigned from her post said there was international pressure to force the opposition to accept that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad will remain in power.

 Al-Atassi stressed that she, along with the committee members, had resigned in opposition of this proposal.

 The head of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee, Riyad Hijab, chief negotiator, Mohamed Sabra, Al-Atassi and eight others members announced on Monday that they had resigned from the committee ahead of the Riyadh Conference scheduled for today.

 Reuters reported Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, saying that their resignation will help unite the opposition.

 Al-Atassi said yesterday that the international community is pressing the opposition to accept Al-Assad under the pretext of political reality and the Russians’ control over the Syrian file.

 “The dispute between the countries now is about the duration of Al-Assad’s control and the possibility of his candidacy for a new term as well as his powers if he remains president, not his departure,” she added.'