The United Nations will convene an international conference on Syria on January 22 to bring together the Syrian government and the opposition to a negotiating table. This is the first time the two sides are meeting since the conflict started in March 2011.
The goal of Geneva II is to achieve a political solution to the Syria conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the two sides for the full implementation of the Geneva communiqué, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on June 30, 2012.
The communiqué, which has been endorsed by the UN Security Council, lays out key steps in a process to end the violence. Among these are the establishment – based on mutual consent – of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, including over military and security entities.