Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifah told a conference on Middle East security in Manama on Friday that real progress can only come through face-to-face negotiations. Leading opposition groups said they were willing to take part.
“This will give the dialogue the popular and democratic momentum it needs to succeed,” opposition groups including the main Shiite party Wefaq and leftist party Waad said in a statement in English on Wefaq’s website.
Crown Prince Salman urged all political figures to condemn street violence but also said the government needed to push harder to reduce inequality.
King Hamad last year called for talks “without preconditions”, but that initiative quickly stalled when Wefaq pulled out, saying its views were not being taken seriously.
The authorities have banned protests and revoked the nationality of 31 activists, but the opposition said the authorities must stop using “excessive and systematic force against citizens”.
