Talks between different Syrian opposition groups in Riyadh which took place on 8-10 December comprise an important step towards activating a "unified voice" of the Syrian opposition, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Friday.

"The Riyadh event was the warm-up step for further talks between the Syrian government and opposition, supervised by the UN," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

In the Riyadh closing statement, the participants agreed on the unity of Syrian lands, that Syria should be a civil state, on the state's sovereignty, and on a commitment to democracy without discrimination.

All these articles, according to Egypt’s statement, are important and were previously discussed during Cairo’s talks with the Syrian opposition.

"This development could lead to a political settlement that opens the door for the return of stability, achieving the legitimate expectations of the Syrian people, and eliminating all kinds of terrorism in Syrian territories.”

Cairo had hosted two meetings with Syrian opposition groups in 2015, and Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also held talks with opposition delegations in an attempt to find a political solution to the conflict that would ensure the unity and independence of the country.

Cairo has not called for Bashar Al-Assad to leave office, and has reiterated its belief that a political solution is necessary to end the four-year conflict.

Saudi Arabia, a key financial backer of Egypt in the last two years, has insisted that Al-Assad must leave.

Egypt currently hosts a number of Syrian refugees, more than 140,000 of whom are registered with the UN refugee agency in Cairo.

Syria's civil war, which started with protests against Assad in 2011 and quickly drew in rival Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim powers across the Middle East, has killed 250,000 people and displaced 12 million.