Catherine Ashton on the decision of the General Assembly of the Syrian Opposition Coalition to attend the Geneva II Conference

Brussels, 18 January 2014

140118/02

STATEMENT

by the Spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the

decision of the General Assembly of the Syrian Opposition Coalition to

attend the Geneva II Conference

The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs

and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement

today:

"Today, the General Assembly of the Syrian Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces

voted in favour of accepting the invitation of the UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon to

attend the high-level international meeting to launch the Geneva Conference on Syria that

will take place in Montreux, Switzerland on 22 January.

The High Representative welcomes this very important decision of the Coalition, which faced

many obstacles and was reached through the determination and courage of the participants

of the General Assembly. The decision to send a Coalition delegation to Montreux will now

enable the start of the process that should yield peace and launch a genuine political

transition in Syria in line with the aspirations of the Syrian people to live in dignity, freedom

and democracy.

The High Representative is looking forward to joining all invited parties in Montreux in this

common effort."

___________________

FOR FURTHER DETAILS:

Michael Mann +32 498 999 780 - +32 2 584 9780- [email protected] @EUHighRepSpox

Maja Kocijancic +32 498 984 425 - +32 2 298 65 70 - [email protected] @AshtonSpox_Maja

Sebastien Brabant +32 460 75 09 98 - [email protected]

Nabila Massrali +32 460 75 41 75 – [email protected]

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بيان المتحدث باسم الممثلة العليا كاثرين أشتون يرحب بقرار الهيئة العامة للائتلاف الوطني السوري المشاركة في مؤتمر جنيف 2.