I welcome the decision today by the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Armed Forces to participate in the Geneva Conference on Syria.  This is a courageous and historic step in the interest of a negotiated political solution to a three-year conflict that has caused so much misery and destruction.

In my letter of 6 January to the President of the Coalition, Mr. Ahmed al-Jarba, I invited a delegation representing the Syrian opposition to the Conference, whose objective is to reach agreement between the Syrian sides on the full implementation of the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 and to achieve a political transition that would bring to an end the suffering of the Syrian people. I look forward to the opposition’s expedited formation of a delegation that broadly represents the diversity of the Syrian opposition, including women.