A meeting between Syrian opposition groups in Riyadh has ended in stalemate, a member said Tuesday (August 22nd), with the fate of President Bashar al-Assad still an obstacle in forming a unified front for peace talks, AFP reported.

The Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) began discussions on Monday with delegations from two other moderate camps, the so-called Cairo and Moscow groupings, in a bid to reach consensus on a joint negotiating strategy.

After hosting seven rounds of largely unsuccessful talks, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura had sought to unify the opposition for what he hopes will be a substantive round of negotiations in October.

"The representatives of the Moscow grouping refused to recognise any text that referred to the Syrian people's demand for the departure of Bashar al-Assad," said Ahmed Ramadan of the National Coalition, a leading component of the HNC.

"There was an important level of understanding between HNC and the Cairo grouping," he said, but all three opposition groups could not reach a consensus. Future meetings will be held to determine the way forward.

Assad's fate has long been a key sticking point, with the HNC insisting on his ouster but the other two camps adopting a softer stance.

De Mistura said last week that he hopes for "real" peace talks between the government and a still-to-be-formed unified Syrian opposition in October.