REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa will leave for Switzerland on Tuesday to attend the Geneva II Conference on Syria.
At the peace conference, Indonesia will emphasize two points- seeking a solution to the Syrian conflict through diplomatic means and the importance of all sides involved in the conflict observing an immediate truce, the Minister said during an interview on Monday.
Indonesia is one of some 30 countries invited to the peace talks. In the Asia-Pacific region, only four nations have been invited to the conference, including India, Japan, China and Indonesia.
"I received a letter from the UN Secretary General on January 6 inviting Indonesia to participate in the conference," Marty explained.
The conference, originally scheduled to take place in Geneva, will now be held in two parts, with the opening session in Montreux, on January 22, and, after a day's break, moving on January 24 to the world body's headquarters in Geneva.
Of note, the conference will bring together the Syrian Government and the opposition to sit a negotiating table for the first time since the conflict began in March 2011.
The first part of the conference, in Montreux, will be chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and attended by delegations of all invited countries, which will have an opportunity to express their views.
The second part in Geneva will be chaired by Joint Special Representative of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and be restricted only to delegations of the Syrian Government and the opposition.
However, the UN Secretary General mentioned that there is a possibility that Indonesia would be requested to help negotiations between the two Syrian delegations in Geneva.
If asked to help with negotiations, Indonesia would emphasize that all parties involved in the conflict must strive for a comprehensive solution that reflects the Syrian people's wishes.
In the Montreux meeting, Indonesia will stress the need for a comprehensive political solution through diplomatic means.
Over the past two years, the armed conflict in Syria has demonstrated that the mobilization of power and violence only brings suffering, the minister added.
Indonesia also believes that a cease fire is necessary for the implementation of humanitarian aid and the beginning of a political process, the minister stated.
The prolonged bloody conflict in Syria has left more than 120,000 people dead and driven 9.5 million from their homes.
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