US still not ready to fully embrace Syrian opposition

WASHINGTON  (AFP) - The United States (US) said on Monday it is closely monitoring the progress of a new Syrian opposition alliance as it weighs whether to recognise the body as the sole representative of the Syrian people.

"We're obviously looking at this day by day, week by week. We're getting to know them better. We're encouraging them to make more progress," said State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland.

"But we will see how things go over the coming weeks." European Union foreign ministers on Monday said they viewed the just-formed National Coalition as "legitimate representatives" of Syria's people.

But a statement from the bloc's 27 ministers after a day of talks did not go as far as France, which last week recognised the coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and is mulling accepting an ambassador.