Ban hopes Geneva meeting will be a "turning point" in Syria crisis
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Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon (file photo)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is travelling to Geneva on Friday to participate in this weekend's meeting by the Action Group for Syria.
The meeting has been convened by UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, and comes amidst intensification of the conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people since March 2011.
Foreign Ministers from the five permanent members of the Security Council—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States—have been invited.
Invitations also have been sent to the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Nabil Elaraby, and to the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar.
Speaking to reporters in New York on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Ban said he hopes the Action Group will be a "turning point" in common efforts to address the crisis in Syria.
"These groups are the most involved key stakeholders in resolving this crisis. Therefore, I sincerely hope that we will create the momentum, decisive momentum, on the basis of which we can really move ahead for the implementation of the six-point peace plan."
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