German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged Syrian opposition groups gathering for talks in Saudi Arabia to unify, Deutsche Welle reported Tuesday.

On a visit to Iraq's Erbil, Steinmeier called on the splintered Syrian opposition to overcome their differences during the coming days of talks.

The talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, are scheduled to get underway in the next few days. Media reports say that up to 100 participants are expected.

It will be the first gathering to bring together a representative sample of the motley array of factions fighting against President Bashar al Assad since the Syrian conflict broke out in mid-2011.

The goal of the talks is to create a unified bloc of the most moderate Syrian opposition groups for potential talks with Assad on forming a transition government by mid-2016 - one of the steps proposed in a peace road map for Syria formulated by a group of top diplomats from 17 countries at a meeting in Vienna last month.

Sources: MENA