Bahrain's Shiite opposition welcomed on Saturday a call for dialogue made by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, saying it was ready to talk in an effort to solve the Gulf kingdom's political crisis.
The opposition, led by the main Shiite Al-Wefaq grouping, said it "looks favorably upon the appeal by the crown prince," and urged "a serious dialogue with agreement on the participants, agenda and duration."
"The opposition is ready to take part in a dialogue whose result must be put to the people, the source of all powers. From the very beginning, the opposition has opted for peaceful means to gain democracy."
On Friday, Prince Salman, considered a moderate within the royal family, called on for dialogue with the mainly Shiite Muslim opposition in the Sunni-dominated country, urging them to condemn violence.
"We had our own experience of the so-called Arab Spring last year. It divided the nation, and many wounds are still to be healed," the prince told delegates at the annual Manama Dialogue organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies.