U.N. to convene Syria peace talks on January 22

Talks aimed at ending the war in Syria will take place in Geneva on January 22, the spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday, ending six months of wrangling over a date. "We will go to Geneva with a mission of hope," said a statement, which did not say who would attend and made no mention of whether Iran would be invited, a question that has in the past divided the United States and Russia, sponsors of the talks. The goal of the conference, known as "Geneva 2", is to implement the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, which provides for the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, including over military and security entities, based on mutual consent. Ban "expects that the Syrian representatives will come to Geneva with a clear understanding that this is the objective, and with a serious intention to end a war that has already left well over 100,000 dead, driven almost nine million from their homes, left countless missing and detained, sent tremors through the region and forced unacceptable burdens on Syria's neighbors," the statement said.

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