Syrian government and opposition negotiators will meet for the first time since start of the country’s 32-month-old war in Geneva from January 22, the UN announced. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the landmark conference “a mission of hope” to end the civil war. But he stressed to both sides that the aiming of the meeting will be to carry out a declaration adopted by the major powers in June 2010 calling for a transitional government.
“The secretary-general expects that the Syrian representatives will come to Geneva with a clear understanding that this is the objective, and with a serious intention to end a war. The conflict in Syria has raged for too long. It would be unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction it has caused,” said the UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
Ban praised the efforts of Russia, the United States and UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in pressing for the conference which has been delayed several times.
