UK recognizes Syrian opposition coalition

LONDON - Britain has decided to recognize the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Hague announced the news, adding that there will also be a significant increase in practical support for the Syrian opposition by Britain.

"What is urgently needed is a political transition to new and legitimate leadership that reflects the will of the Syrian people, and that can end the violence and begin to rebuild the country with regional and international support," Hague said.

After meeting the president and two of the vice-presidents of the Syrian National Coalition in London last Friday, and seeking consultations from the European Union on Monday, the foreign secretary said he received assurances and decided to support the National Coalition and "deny space to extremist groups."

Hague also announced a new package of British support amounting to around 2 million pounds ($3 million) for the Syrian opposition, with a 1-million-pound package of "communications support" and the deployment of a "Stabilization Response Team" to the region to work with the Coalition.

"This comes on top of the training of citizen journalists, human rights advocates, doctors and Syrian activists that we have already provided, and the generators, communications equipment and water purification kits for unarmed opposition groups and civil society that I announced during the summer," the statement said.

The move makes Britain the second major Western power to recognize the Syrian National coalition. French President Francois Hollande announced last week that the country recognizes Syria's newly formed opposition coalition as representative of the Syrian people.