The Secretary-General warmly welcomes the announcement on Syria by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Kerry in Moscow yesterday. 

The Secretary-General and Joint Special Representative Brahimi have asserted from the outset their conviction that a negotiated political solution is the only way to end this prolonged and ever-deepening crisis.

The goal should be clear to all – it must be an end to violence, a clean break from the past and a transition to a new Syria in which the rights of all communities are protected and the legitimate aspirations of all the people in Syria for freedom, dignity and justice are met.