An international conference on Syria was held on June 30 in Geneva. Unlike the "Friends of Syria" meetings held in Tunisia and Turkey, the Geneva conference was under the auspices of the United Nations, making it more bipartisan and trustworthy to both sides of the conflict, although neither side was invited to attend.

Actually the Syria crisis is complicated as there are so many players involved. Being located on the front line of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it still has some territory, the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel; at the same time, it is ruled by Alewis, who are a minority Shiite of the population, most of the population is Sunni.

The government has relied on tight control to maintain its rule, but its power diminished last year. However, its opponents are distracted rather than united, and the international community can't agree on a certain plan of intervention so the situation has become a stalemate.