Friends of Syria' group set for London talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in London on Wednesday for the meeting

Foreign ministers from 11 Western and Arab nations are due to meet in London to discuss new ways of supporting the Syrian opposition.

The Friends of Syria group will also discuss the country's dire humanitarian situation. US Secretary of State John Kerry is among those attending.
The meeting comes days after #UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi stepped down over lack of progress in ending the crisis.

Syria's three-year conflict has left some 150,000 people dead.
The Friends of Syria group is made up of Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US.

It was set up in 2012 in response to moves by Russia and China to block UN resolutions on Syria.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said it was "the right time" for countries who support a democratic future for Syria to come together.

"Foreign ministers will discuss how best to significantly step-up our support to the Syrian opposition, make urgent progress on improving the deteriorating humanitarian crisis and reinvigorate a political process that has stalled due to regime intransigence," the spokesman said

Foreign ministers will discuss the plight of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees

Thursday's meeting is the first time the group has met since January.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says that since then, peace talks in Geneva have collapsed; Mr Brahimi has stepped down and rebel forces inside Syria have lost ground to President Bashar al-Assad.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the "hopelessly divided" international community was partly to blame for leaving Mr Brahimi battling "almost impossible odds" in brokering a peace deal.

Efforts to reconvene peace talks were dealt a fresh blow when Mr Assad announced presidential elections for 3 June. He is seeking a third seven-year term.

The idea was dismissed by the US as "a parody of democracy" and Mr Ban said it could torpedo efforts to broker a peace deal.
Source: BBC News