30 June 2012

The UN Geneva Office hosted a meeting of the ‘Action Group for Syria’ which comprised the UN Secretary-General, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States in addition to the ministers of foreign affairs of Russia, Turkey, China, France, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait, the UK, Ireland, USA and the European Union.

The meeting issued a statement of the Syrian crisis providing for the “establishment of a transitional governing body that can establish a neutral environment in which the transition can take place, with the transitional governing body exercising full executive powers. It could include members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent”. This would be followed by drafting a new constitution that shall be subject to public referendum after which free, fair and pluralist elections would be held.