Geneva II Conference on Syria

June 2012 Geneva "action group" An "action group" conference (now referred to as Geneva I Conference on Syria) was held on Saturday 30 June 2012, in Geneva, initiated by the then UN peace envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, on the need for a "transitional government body with full executive powers" which could include members of the present Syrian government and of the opposition. states that any political settlement must deliver a transition that: • Offers a perspective for the future that can be shared by all in Syria. • Establishes clear steps according to a firm time-table towards the realization of that perspective. • Can be implemented in a climate of safety for all, stability and calm. • Is reached rapidly without further bloodshed and violence and is credible. The key steps in the transition should include: == Aims ==

The objectives of the Geneva II conference are to bring one delegation representing the Syrian Ba'athist government and one representing the Syrian opposition together to discuss how to implement the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 == Obstacles before 'Geneva II' ==

Brahimi said in August 2013 that the main problem was getting the different groups in Syria and their different international supporters to accept the "very principle of a political solution." He said that this has been the UN approach to the Syrian civil war since the war began. Brahimi said that his main message to the Syrian parties ... [is] that there is no military solution to this devastating conflict. Only a political solution will put an end to it. And the basis for such a solution does exist. It is the Communiqué issued on 30 June 2012, == Participants ==

The list of the participant countries of the Geneva II Conference on Syria was determined on 20 December 2013. ;International organizations: • • • • ;States and subjects of public international law: Syrian participation On 22 July 2013 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Syrian government was ready to engage in the conference without preconditions. On 25 November 2013, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that on the planned conference on 22 January 2014, members of the Syrian government and of the opposition will be present. Following the publication of the list of participants on 20 December 2013. Hassan Abboud, the leader of Ahrar ash-Sham, has said that it not be bound by the outcome of the talks. The Islamic Front has rejected the talks. The Syrian National Council has withdrawn from the Syrian National Coalition in protest at the decision of the coalition to attend the talks. The Syria Revolutionaries Front and the Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union have supported the talks and want to be represented at the conference. On 20 December 2013, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party requested a delegation to the conference, citing the fact that Kurdish forces had created a semi-Autonomous state in northern Syria but were not invited. The opposition delegation is headed by Hadi al-Bahra. Iranian participation In May 2013, Iranian Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazaee said that Iran would decide on its participation in the conference, depending "on the details that we will consider when we receive them." On 19 January 2014, the Syrian National Coalition threatened to leave the talks after a last minute (by measure of days) invitation to the Iranian government by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to participate in the conference in Montreux, 22 January. The United States viewed the invitation to Iran to attend the Geneva II conference as conditioned on Iran's explicit and public support for the full implementation of the Geneva I communiqué. Following nearly 24 hours of confusion Ban Ki-moon rescinded the invitation to Iran; the Syrian National Coalition announced that it would attend the conference shortly afterwards. == Proposed dates ==

The conference was initially proposed for the end of May 2013, with participation expected by representatives of the Syrian National Coalition, the president Bashar al-Assad government of Syria, the United States and Russia, and coordination by Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN peace envoy for Syria. In late June, the United States postponed the conference. In mid-August 2013, UN diplomats tentatively proposed mid-October 2013 for the conference date. On 5 November 2013, Brahimi said that US and Russia could not reach an agreement over the date for the conference, and further deliberation over the pursued conference would take place 25 November 2013. As a November date could not be agreed, Brahimi still hoped to get a meeting before the end of 2013. On 14 November, it was reported the conference may take place beginning 12 December 2013. The report allegedly quoted a message from the US Secretary of State John Kerry to his French counterpart Laurent Fabius. On 25 November 2013, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the conference would be held on 22 January 2014. ==Preparations==

In August 2013, Lakhdar Brahimi moved his headquarters from Cairo to Geneva in order to prepare for the conference. ==Conference==

and Emma Bonino On 22 January 2014 the conference started in Montreux. Foreign ministers from forty countries made statements. US Secretary of State John Kerry stated the US view that Assad is obliged to step down as part of any transitional Syrian administration: "There is no way, no way possible, that a man who has led a brutal response to his own people can regain legitimacy to govern". Syrian National Coalition leader Ahmed Jarba called on the government to immediately transfer power to a transitional authority. In response to Kerry, the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem stated: He accused a number of states of supporting terrorism and deliberately attempting to destabilize Syria. On Friday 24 January 2014, the opposing sides would hold their first face-to-face talks, in the presence of United Nations mediators. It was later said in the talks that Assad's position as president is non-negotiable. Still later on 24 January, United Nations spokeswoman, Alessandra Velluci, told a news briefing in Geneva, "This process is being shaped at the moment. It has to take time for the preparations. There are no Syrian-Syrian talks at the moment. I cannot tell you anything about what will happen in the next few days." The first round of talks ended on 31 January. The second round of negotiations took place on 10–15 February 2014, but yielded no tangible results. The two weeklong rounds produced no actual negotiations on resolving a conflict or even what to discuss and how to do so. A third round of negotiations was planned, though no dates were set. ==Reactions==

Ahmed Jarba, president of the Syrian National Coalition, stated in late July 2013 that he expected the conference to take place, doubted its success in ending the conflict, and hoped for a transitional government to end the civil war. The Syrian National Council which was part of the Syrian National Coalition withdrew from the coalition on 20 January 2014 in protest at the decision of the latter to attend the Geneva talks. On 22 January, in reaction to the UN Secretary General's withdrawal of the invitation to his country to participate in the conference, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani stated that the "lack of influential players" attending meant that he doubted the ability of Geneva II to solve the crisis. ==See also==