An "action group" conference (now referred to as Geneva I Conference on Syria) was held on Saturday 30 June 2012, in Geneva, initiated by the then UN peace envoy to Syria Kofi Annan,[6] and attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, a representative of China, British Foreign Secretary Hague, and Kofi Annan.

[8] William Hague said that all five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Russia, China, France and the UK – supported Mr Annan's efforts.

[8] Clinton however suggested that Syrian president Assad could, in such transitional government, not remain in power, which immediately was contradicted by Lavrov.

[8] The final communiqué[12] states that any political settlement must deliver a transition that: The key steps in the transition should include:[12] After the June 2012 meeting, Lakhdar Brahimi, who was appointed as the new UN peace envoy to Syria in August 2012, started to prepare an international conference on ending Syria's civil war, in close cooperation with the Russian Federation and the United States.

[6] In May 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to try to "bring both sides to the table" to end the bloodshed.

Their initiative gained greater impetus after Ghouta chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus killed hundreds of people, on 21 August 2013.

[6] Attitudes by Syrian groups and by the US and Russia towards the role of President Bashar al-Assad in a transitional period differ and are expected by The Economist magazine to constitute a major issue at the conference.

[16] On 22 July 2013 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Syrian government was ready to engage in the conference without preconditions.

[19] On 25 November 2013, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that on the planned conference on 22 January 2014, members of the Syrian government and of the opposition will be present.

[26] Following nearly 24 hours of confusion Ban Ki-moon rescinded the invitation to Iran;[27] the Syrian National Coalition announced that it would attend the conference shortly afterwards.

[31] A pre-Geneva-II meeting in The Hague by senior US and Russian diplomats was planned for 28 August 2013 but postponed by the US Department of State because of "ongoing consultations" relating to the 2013 Ghouta chemical weapons attacks.

Syrian National Coalition leader Ahmed Jarba called on the government to immediately transfer power to a transitional authority.

[citation needed] Still later on 24 January, United Nations spokeswoman, Alessandra Velluci, told a news briefing in Geneva, "This process is being shaped at the moment.

[44] On 22 January, in reaction to the UN Secretary General's withdrawal of the invitation to his country to participate in the conference, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani stated that the "lack of influential players" attending meant that he doubted the ability of Geneva II to solve the crisis.