The Syrian opposition called on Wednesday for a transitional governing body to oversee a U.N.-monitored ceasefire across Syria and expel foreign fighters, in a paper that avoided any mention of President Bashar al-Assad. The confidential paper, seen by Reuters, lays out a vision of post-conflict Syria with all ethnic groups participating in a transition process aimed at restoring peace and stability. Opposition and diplomatic sources said it deliberately does not refer to Assad, in line with a text agreed by world powers in June 2012 which calls for a transitional body with full executive authority, including over the security apparatus and the army, but which leaves the Syrian ruler's fate open. The memorandum was presented to mediator Lakhdar Brahimi and a Syrian government delegation at a joint session at talks in Geneva aimed at halting three years of bloodshed that has killed more than 130,000 people and driven millions from their homes. The transitional authority will be "the only legitimate body that represents the sovereignty and independence of the Syrian state and is the only one that represents the Syrian state internationally", the paper said. Asked why the document did not go into the fate of Assad, the opposition's chief negotiator, Hadi al-Bahra, told Reuters: "We can no longer talk about one person as the sole embodiment of Syria. We deliberately presented a legal paper. Anyone who reads it will realise that a political transition will be the foundation for a new democratic future." -- SPA 20:57 LOCAL TIME 17:57 GMT تغريد
