CAIRO
The head of the Syrian opposition coalition Hadi al-Bahra is expected to pay a visit to Cairo on Saturday to discuss an Egyptian initiative for solving the Syrian crisis, an outstanding member of the coalition said.
The member, who asked not to be named, told The Anadolu Agency that during his visit to Cairo al-Bahra would meet with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss the initiative.
Egyptian officials discussed the initiative with several Syrian opposition figures and officials from the Syrian regime, the member said.
He added that the initiative had not been totally approved by all parties, while some issues remained unresolved, including the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Some members of Syria' internal opposition had paid a visit to the Egyptian capital recently, following a visit to the coastal city of Alexandria by a cousin of the Syrian President.
The opposition coalition member said it was no secret that Egypt tried to broker a peaceful settlement to the Syrian crisis.
He said Egyptian officials met with the opposition and the regime to fulfill this objective.
The Egyptian initiative calls for the formation of a military council of 15 people with the aim of rebuilding the Syrian army and then forming a parliament-like body of 100 people to manage the transitional period in Syria, the member said.
He added that the initiative also calls for suspending the current Syrian constitution and the formation of a government of technocrats.
He said the Syrian opposition preferred to hold talks about solving the Syrian crisis in Cairo, not in Moscow.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov had earlier suggested that between 20 and 25 Syrian opposition figures meet in Moscow by the end of January before they meet with representatives of the regime in Russia as well.
Egypt is yet to comment on the initiative. An Egyptian diplomat, however, told AA earlier that the Egyptian government had some ideas to bring about a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Syria has been ravaged by civil war for almost four years now. The violence has killed tens of thousands of people so far and displaced millions of others both inside and outside Syria.
www.aa.com.tr/en
