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World

Syria Opposition rejects any role for President Bashar Assad in transitional period

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. Kerry has arrived for talks on ending the Syrian war with other key nations, including bitter regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) (The Associated Press)

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    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry salutes as he arrives at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. Kerry has arrived for talks on ending the Syrian war with other key nations, including bitter regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) (The Associated Press)

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    Iranian mourners carry the flag draped coffin of Abdollah Bagheri Niaraki, a onetime bodyguard of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was killed while fighting in Aleppo in Syria, during his funeral service in front of his home in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported last Friday that Niaraki was killed while fighting alongside Syrian government forces against "terrorists" in the northern city of Aleppo. Iran is a longtime ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has provided crucial economic and military backing throughout the uprising and subsequent civil war. Iran says it has sent military advisers to Syria but no combat troops. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) (The Associated Press)

VIENNA – The latest developments in talks on ending the Syrian war (all times local).

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11:50 a.m.

Syria's exiled opposition is rejecting any role for President Bashar Assad in the political transition "even for one day" ahead of talks on ending the country's civil war.

In a statement Thursday, Syrian National Coalition member Bassam Abdullah warned against wasting time on political initiatives like Vienna, saying they are attempts to allow the military time to regain territories from rebels.

Abdullah's comments come as diplomats converge on Vienna for talks by key players in the Syrian civil war now entering its fifth year.

The talks are attended by the U.S., Russia, and bitter regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, the first time the two nations to discuss Syria.

Abdullah made the statement after holding meetings in Germany with the U.S. envoy to Syria Michael Ratney.