Syrian rebel group votes to join peace talks with Assad regime

The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group has announced it will join peace talks with the Syrian government if conditions are met.

The Syrian National Coalition agreed to attend a proposed peace conference with President Bashar Assad's government following a vote in Istanbul.

The US and Russia are trying to convene the talks in Geneva by the end of this year.

But according to a coalition statement, the group says representatives would attend only if the Syrian government allowed the creation of humanitarian corridors to reach besieged areas and released detainees, especially woman and children. The coalition statement made clear that the decision did not remove its demand that Assad step down in any transitional government.

The Syrian government has rejected any preconditions for the talks.