After big participations in earlier “Friends of Syria” meetings the number of countries involved in these has shrunk to less than a dozen.
The Group of Friends of the Syrian People (sometimes: Friends of Syria Group or Friends of the Syrian People Group or Friends of Democratic Syria or simply Friends of Syria) is an international diplomatic collective of countries and bodies convening periodically on the topic of Syria outside the U.N. Security Council. The collective was created in response to a Russian and Chinese veto on a Security Council resolution condemning Syria; American president Barack Obama has stated that it was organized by the United States.
The group met for the first time on February 24 2012 in Tunisia:
Representatives of more than 70 nations have gathered for a “Friends of Syria” conference in the Tunisian capital aimed at finding ways to end bloodshed in Syria’s increasingly violent uprising.
The group met for the second time on April 1 2012 in Istanbul:
Representatives of the 70-plus nations comprising the group decided to recognize the Syrian National Council, the largest opposition body, as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people and the opposition as a whole.
The group met for the third time on July 6 2012 in Paris:
Over 100 countries have sent delegations to the third meeting of “Friends of Syria” held in Paris, where foreign ministers and senior diplomats were expected to further back Syrian opposition by equipping them with communication tools to improve their organisation.
The group met for the fourth time on December 12 2012 in Marrakech:
The 114 states attending the conference as well as 15 NGOs, meanwhile, expressed their serious concern regarding the dire situation of the internally displaced people and those who seek refugee outside Syria due to the domestic violence.
The group met for the fifth time on February 28 2013 in Rome:
The new US Secretary of State John Kerry met for about an hour with opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib before the 11-nation Friends of Syria meeting kicked off at the 16th-century Villa Madama on a hilltop above Rome.
The group met for the sixth time on April 20 2013 in Istanbul:
In a joint statement by the 11 countries attending the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul, extreme concern was expressed over the Syria conflict and condemnation for the brutal campaign of the Syrian regime.
From 114 down to 11 participants seems to express diminished support for the ever complaining Syrian opposition:
These 11 countries besides Turkey are the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Italy, Germany and France.
A Syrian opposition figure, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al-Monitor that the main challenge in the meeting was “for a millionth time to persuade the Westerners to agree to provide arms to the opposition, but they still have reservations because of the radical elements.” One senior opposition figure also told Reuters: “The world must know if they don’t agree on our right to receive weapons this will be the last meeting the opposition attend. We will not attend any meetings after this.”
Yesterday’s inconclusive meeting may well have been the last occurrence of the “Friends of Syria”. Meanwhile the head of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) Moaz al-Khatib resigned again.
Around Damascus the Syrian army seems to make more progress in wrestling down the Jihadist insurgency. The Free Syrian Army spoke of “tactical withdrawal” and, as usual in its forced retreats, alleged that the Syrian Army committed a “massacre”. Translation: “The Syrian army beat the shit out of us.”