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Syrian opposition group says it won't take part in peace talks while massacres underway

Associated Press
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FILE - This Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 file photo shows Syrian President Bashar Assad during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, unseen, at the presidency in Tehran, Iran. Assad is quoted by a Lebanese TV as saying the first shipment of Russian air defense missiles has arrived in his country. Al-Manar TV, owned by the militant Hezbollah group, is to air an exclusive interview with Assad later Thursday, May 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File) (The Associated Press)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Dabaa military air base, in Homs province, Syria, Thursday, May 30, 2013. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported ongoing clashes in the town on Thursday. The Observatory called for urgent aid to the injured inside the town, most of which is now controlled by Assad’s troops, including the Dabaa military air base just outside Qusair. (AP Photo/SANA) (The Associated Press)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Dabaa military air base, in Homs province, Syria, Thursday, May 30, 2013. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported ongoing clashes in the town on Thursday. The Observatory called for urgent aid to the injured inside the town, most of which is now controlled by Assad’s troops, including the Dabaa military air base just outside Qusair. (AP Photo/SANA) (The Associated Press)

Syria's main Western-backed opposition group says it will not participate in U.S.-Russian sponsored peace talks while the regime is carrying out massacres in Syria.

Thursday's announcement came at the end of weeklong opposition talks in Istanbul to try and forge a united view on whether to take part in the peace conference expected to take place in Geneva next month.

A spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, Khalid Saleh, says an "international conference on a political solution to the situation in Syria has no meaning in light of the massacres that are taking place."