After months of delay and much international mediation, the date for the Geneva II Middle East peace conference has been set, rekindling hopes for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis. On Nov 25, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that the conference would be held on Jan 22, 2014, in Geneva where the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiating table for the first time since an armed conflict broke out in the country in March 2011.

Geneva II is aimed at achieving a political resolution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva Communique, which was adopted after the first international conference on the Syrian crisis on Jan 30, 2012.

The Jan 22 conference reflects the common aspiration of all the countries - that the Syrian conflict should be resolved as soon as possible through peaceful means. The UN has offered a negotiating platform where belligerent Syrian parties and their regional and international supporters could sit down, peacefully air their views and search for a political solution acceptable to all sides.