Kerry says progress made in Saudi-led talks with Syrian opposition

United Nations peace envoy Staffan de Mistura was also set to take part in the talks aimed at ending a brutal war that has killed more than 250,000 people and forced millions from their homes since March 2011.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the Friday meeting, saying Washington’s delegation will be led by Assistant Secretary of State Anne Patterson.

Rebel factions at the talks include the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, the Saudi-backed Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham – groups that had long rejected any negotiations with Assad’s government so long as he remained in power. It also said it would preserve state institutions.

The scheduled January meeting is the result of a road map agreed to in Vienna last month by world powers including the USA and Russian Federation, as well as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Jubeir said he hopes the Syrian rebels can agree on a common vision for Syria during the meeting – an effort to prove the rebels are not too fragmented to present themselves as a united front for future talks.

A mooted December 18 meeting to advance Syrian peace talks was “not locked in yet”, according to Kerry, with stakeholders waiting for the outcome of this week’s conference in Saudi Arabia.

Kerry has said that he wants to travel to Moscow next week ahead of the planned NY meeting for talks on Syria and the crisis in Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin.

Monzer Akbik, a member of the National Coalition, told the Reuters news agency that delegates had chose to set up a 25-strong leadership group – six from the National Coalition, six from rebel factions, five from the National Co-ordination Committee, and eight independent figures.

Opponents of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Thursday to bring together political and armed factions in a single body in preparation for possible peace talks with his government, an opposition member said. Also in attendance were representatives of the Syria-based National Coordination Body, an organisation sometimes accused by other opposition members of being too conciliatory toward Mr Al Assad’s government.

In a separate development on Thursday, the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), which controls large parts of northern and eastern Syria, reportedly recaptured the Mahin and Hawarin areas of Homs province that it lost to government forces last month.

Ahrar al-Sham’s withdrawal came after other delegates and officials gave positive statements about the progress of the talks.

“As I said before, Bashar Assad has two solutions: Leave through negotiations, which is easier and better for all”.