MOSCOW, December 12. /ITAR-TASS/. Moscow intends to adhere to a peaceful settlement in Syria and urges its partners to follow suit, the Foreign Ministry said.
“We will continue to act in accordance with our position of principle in support of peaceful settlement in Syria through Geneva II to be convened on January 22, 2014 and a broad inter-Syrian dialogue on the basis of the Geneva Communique of June 30, 2012. We remain committed to all adopted international decisions and agreements on this matter, including the relevant provisions of the Final Document of the G8 leaders in Lough Erne,” the ministry said.
The ministry hopes that “all of our international and regional partners will act likewise.”
The next trilateral meeting to prepare the international conference on Syria known as Geneva II will be held December 20, the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for the Syrian Crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, said.
He said the complete list of conference participants was not compiled yet and it was not yet clear whether Iranian and Saudi Arabian delegations would attend the forum scheduled for January 2014. At the same time, Brahimi said that these two countries were among possible participants.
The envoy said the main issues related to Syria would be addressed after the start of the talks on January 22. The conference is not an event but a process, during which the participants will discuss the whole range of issues of mutual interest, he said, adding that one of such issues would be the creation of a transitional body as provided for in the Geneva Communique of June 30, 2012.
Brahimi urged the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed and not to miss the chance offered by the conference. He believes that Geneva II will provide a good opportunity to reach peace and stop the violence.
Earlier on November 25, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he would convene the Geneva conference on Syria in Geneva on January 22, 2014, thus bringing the Syrian government and opposition to a negotiating table for the first time since the start of the Syrian conflict.
“We will go to Geneva with a mission of hope. The Geneva conference is the vehicle for a peaceful transition that fulfills the legitimate aspirations of all the Syrian people for freedom and dignity, and which guarantees safety and protection to all communities in Syria. Its goal is the full implementation of the Geneva Communique of 30 June 2012, including the establishment, based on mutual consent, of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, including over military and security entities,” the spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General said.
He said Ban expected that the Syrian representatives would come to Geneva with a clear understanding that this is the objective, and with a serious intention to end a war that has already left well over 100,000 dead, driven almost nine million from their homes, left countless missing and detained, sent tremors through the region and forced unacceptable burdens on Syria’s neighbors.
The U.N. Secretary-General also expects regional and international partners “to demonstrate their meaningful support for constructive negotiations.”
“All must show vision and leadership. All can begin working now to take steps to help the Geneva conference succeed, including toward the cessation of violence, humanitarian access, release of detainees and return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced to their homes,” the spokesperson said.
Even though the conference will take place in about eight weeks, Ban urged all parties to begin to take steps to help the Geneva conference succeed, including toward the cessation of violence, humanitarian access, release of detainees and return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced people to their homes.
“As I have repeatedly said, the only way to truly end the violence and suffering is through an inclusive Syrian-led political process,” he said.
“We go with a clear understanding: the Geneva conference is the vehicle for a peaceful transition that fulfills the legitimate aspirations of all the Syrian people for freedom and dignity, and which guarantees safety and protection to all communities in Syria,” Ban said in statement.
“We have a clear goal: the full implementation of the Geneva Communique of 30 June 2012, including the establishment, based on mutual consent, of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, including over military and security entities,” he said.
The conflict in Syria has left more than 100,000 dead, almost nine million driven from their homes, countless missing and detained, and terrible violations of human rights.