No confirmation on invitees for Syria conference: UN

United Nations – The UN has said that there has been no confirmation on any invitees for the international conference on Syria, scheduled to begin in Geneva in January.

In response to a question at a daily news briefing here, Martin Nesirky, the UN spokesperson, said Tuesday that he could not confirm any invitees yet for the Jan 22 conference, known as the Geneva II conference on Syria, reported Xinhua.

Nesirky said there would be a meeting Dec 20 to prepare for the Geneva II conference. However, he declined to comment on the positions of individual groups such as the Free Syrian Army on the conference.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Monday he would convene the long-sought international conference on Syria in Geneva in January, bringing together the government and the opposition to a negotiating table for the first time since the conflict started in March 2011.

After months! of delay, Syria’s government and opposition are expected to hold their first negotiations aimed at ending the country’s political crisis and armed conflict in Geneva Jan 22.

The goal of Geneva II would be to achieve a political solution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communique, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue Jan 30, 2012.

The communique, which has been endorsed by the UN Security Council, lays out key steps to end the violence.