The 22 member Arab League has acknowledged the new National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legal representatives for the Syrian opposition.
Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council, consisting of six members, formally recognised it as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people.
The united representative body was established at the weekend during discussions held in Doha, Qatar.
Responding to the recent developments, Assad's Minister of Information Omran al-Zubi said whilst speaking at a university in Damascus on Monday,
"The work of the external opposition is clinically dead and is undergoing convulsions."