New Syria opposition coalition appoints France envoy

Syria’s new opposition coalition will have an ambassador in France. The decision to appoint an envoy comes after a meeting in Paris between French President Francois Hollande and Moaz al-Khatib, head of the group put together during a meeting in Qatar last weekend. Shortly after the summit in Doha, France became the only European power to officially recognise the the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces. “I have also asked that during Monday’s meeting of the European Union’s foreign affairs ministers, our Foreign Affairs Minister, Laurent Fabius, continue our work of convincing his counterparts, so that the recognition which France given can be followed by other declarations from European countries and even from the European Union,” said Hollande. Standing alongside him, al-Khatib added: “We will work together. We will work with all those who want to help us implement justice. We will work with France, and I am saying in all honesty, there has been no secret agreement, there was no decision made in secret. The Syrian people will decide freely.” Munzer Makhous is the man chosen to be the Syrian opposition ambassador in France. Makhous holds four doctorate degrees and, like Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, belongs to the religious minority Alawite group.