Syria's opposition National Coalition is to meet 9 November to decide on the divisive issue of whether to take part in peace talks in Geneva, a member said Thursday.
"We have decided to put off the General Assembly and political committee meetings until 9 November in Istanbul," Samir Nashar told AFP.
The Istanbul meetings were originally scheduled for 22 October but postponed because of a "Friends of Syria" meeting in London.
"There is an international effort, notably American, to persuade the Coalition to take part" in the so-called Geneva II peace conference, Nashar said.
"Putting off a decision until 9 November aims to allow more time for discussion, and to assist efforts to change the mind of those opposed [to taking part]," Nashar said.
On 13 October, the Syrian National Council — a key component of the Coalition — insisted it would not attend the Geneva talks mooted for late November.
US officials in Istanbul, notably US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, are working hard behind the scenes to persuade the opposition to join the talks, the State Department said Wednesday.
But Coalition leaders have insisted they will not attend unless regime change and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's departure are on the table, demands roundly rejected by Damascus.
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