Syrian civil war: Opposition group says ready for talks but Assad must go

On Thursday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Syria's main opposition groups agreed at unprecedented talks to negotiate with President Bashar al-Assad's regime but insisted he and his aides quit power with the start of the transition period, set out by world powers in Vienna last month, AFP reported.

"The participants are ready to negotiate with representatives of the Syrian regime... within a specific timeframe that would be agreed on with the United Nations," participants said in a statement.

"We welcome the positive outcome... including reaching a consensus on principles for a pluralistic and democratic Syria and on how to advance a political settlement," said US Secretary of State John Kerry. ''We appreciate Saudi Arabia’s leadership in convening this broad and representative group... who agreed today on the structure of their negotiating body to represent them. While this important step forward brings us closer to starting negotiations between the Syrian parties, we recognize the difficult work ahead, and remain determined to continue toward a political settlement that brings an end the conflict."

However, one of Syria's most important rebel groups, the Ahrar al-Sham force, said it had walked out of the meeting, according to the publication, adding, But sources inside the talks and Western diplomats said it subsequently signed on to the agreement, though this could not immediately be confirmed.