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A senior official said here Tuesday that the UN is "working hard" to convene an international conference on Syria in Geneva, Switzerland in mid-November in order to put an early end to the 30-month Syrian crisis.
Jeffrey Feltman, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, made the statement while briefing the UN Security Council on the current situation in the Middle East.
"Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi is in the region on a tour that will include visits to Syria and key states who can bring influence to bear on the prospects for peace," said Feltman, who just returned late last week from visits to London and Moscow where the focus was on convening the Geneva conference.
On Monday, Brahimi, the joint special representative of the United Nations and Arab League on Syria, met with officials in Iraq, following weekend visits with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi in Cairo.
"The conference will aim to help the Syrian sides launch a political process, which would lead to an agreement on how to fully implement the Geneva communique of 30 June 2012," he said.
However, a date for the Geneva conference is not yet set.
The goal of a second Geneva conference, also called Geneva II Conference, would be to achieve a political solution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the Syrian government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communique, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on June 30, 2012.
Feltman said "The secretary-general continues to insist that the only way to bring peace to Syria is an inclusive and Syrian- led political process."
"We are working at all levels and hope that a common vision for a political solution can soon emerge among the Syrians, in the region and globally," he said.
"We continue to call on all who truly wish to work for peace and a new democratic Syria to focus not on military actions or transferring arms to either side of the conflict but rather on ensuring the holding and the success of this conference," he said.
"With a political process, however difficult it may be, there is hope that a new Syria will emerge," he added."Without it, there is little on the horizon but the further destruction of Syria and the further destabilization of the region as a result of this conflict."
