Summary Syria's leading opposition group was in disarray as they began a 5th fractious day of talks.
ISTANBUL (AFP) - Syria s leading opposition group was in disarray Monday as they began a fifth fractious day of talks in Istanbul, with discussions on participation in a US-Russian peace initiative now stalled.
There was squabbling over a vote early Monday, which brought eight new members into the Syrian opposition umbrella group.
The voting results formalised the entry into the Coalition of veteran dissident and Marxist intellectual Michel Kilo who had initially proposed a list of 22 candidates.
Though the secular Kilo would bring in several new women and members of Syria s religious minorities, opponents say his entry will shrink the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and force Saudi control on the coalition.
Only five of his proposed candidates made it in, after an agreement was reached to put each new member s name up for voting.
As soon as the voting ended, Coalition spokesman -- also a member of key bloc the Syrian National Council -- Khaled al-Saleh gave a press conference announcing the voting result.
However at the same time, in the lobby of the Istanbul hotel hosting the opposition s meeting, there was chaos as violent discussions broke out.
Some of the arguments pitted dissidents against each other, while a discussion raged between an opposition figure and a Western diplomat present at the scene.
Asked whether Kilo s allies could pull out of the Coalition -- and cause the expansion process to fail -- the secular dissident s ally Walid al-Bunni said: "It s too late now. Ask Michel (Kilo) that question tomorrow."
Forging a united position on the proposed peace talks in Geneva is all the more urgent given military setbacks on the ground and a forthcoming flurry of diplomatic activity that aims to stop the conflict that has claimed 90,000 lives.
Syria s foreign minister upped the ante on Sunday, saying his government will take part in a peace conference in Geneva, terming it a "good opportunity for a political solution" to the civil war in Syria.
Some of the opposition leaders insist that the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad s regime can play no part in decisions on the country s future.
The Coalition s bid to expand comes amid what opponents have described as intense regional and international pressure, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which seeks to offset the grip over the group of Qatar and the influential Muslim Brotherhood.
A dissident who opposed Saudi Arabia s bid, which came in the early hours of an unscheduled fifth day of meetings in Istanbul, described the voting result as "democracy. The Syrian revolution will continue with or without the Coalition".
Recognised by dozens of states and organisations as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, the Coalition is marred by division, which some members blame on competing regional bids for influence.
Meanwhile, in Brussels and in Paris later Monday, two key meetings were to be held Monday.
EU members are scheduled to discuss lifting an arms embargo on Syria, in order to allow weapons to be channelled to rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, while a top-level meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, France and the United States will take place in Paris.
