The newly formed Syrian opposition coalition has received backing from the European Union, a potentially significant vote of confidence for a movement seeking to gain recognition.
But EU foreign ministers stopped short of offering official diplomatic recognition to the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces.
EU leaders stressed that official recognition may only be decided by each member country individually.
In a statement the bloc's 27 foreign ministers said that "the EU considers [the coalition] legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people."
France had already extended diplomatic recognition to the Syrian opposition coalition.
The EU endorsement came as Syria's opposition coalition said it had decided to make Egypt its headquarters.
But hard-line rebel groups in northern Syria rejected the newly formed body. In an online video statement, 13 radical Islamist factions dismissed it as a "foreign project."
But EU foreign ministers stopped short of offering official diplomatic recognition to the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces.
EU leaders stressed that official recognition may only be decided by each member country individually.
In a statement the bloc's 27 foreign ministers said that "the EU considers [the coalition] legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people."
France had already extended diplomatic recognition to the Syrian opposition coalition.
The EU endorsement came as Syria's opposition coalition said it had decided to make Egypt its headquarters.
But hard-line rebel groups in northern Syria rejected the newly formed body. In an online video statement, 13 radical Islamist factions dismissed it as a "foreign project."
