Syria peace talks set for January 22 in Geneva: UN

Credit: Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Free Syrian Army fighters joke around by throwing a shoe using a slingshot in Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria, November 24, 2013.

'We will go to Geneva with a mission of hope,' said a statement, which did not say who would attend and made no mention of whether Iran would be invited, a question that has in the past divided the United States and Russia, sponsors of the talks.

But Ban expects 'all regional and international partners to demonstrate their meaningful support for constructive negotiations', the statement said.

The talks are intended to bring the Syrian government and opposition to the negotiating table for the first time, almost three years into the conflict.

The goal of the conference, known as 'Geneva 2', is to implement the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, which provides for the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, including over military and security entities, based on mutual consent.

Ban 'expects that the Syrian representatives will come to Geneva with a clear understanding that this is the objective, and with a serious intention to end a war that has already left well over 100,000 dead, driven almost nine million from their homes, left countless missing and detained, sent tremors through the region and forced unacceptable burdens on Syria's neighbors,' the statement said.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Patrick Graham and Giles Elgood)