The United States and Russia are both eager to hold an international conference aimed at discussing the security situation in Syria. Referred to as the Geneva 2, the conference will be organized in a very practical manner, according to Marie Harf, who is the U.S. Department of State deputy spokesperson.

In her announcement, Harf also shared comments about the U.S. Russia 2+2 talks that took place in Washington. She stated that both Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have already made agreements to organize Geneva 2 at the earliest possible time. Based on discussions between the two, the conference will probably be held in Geneva sometime after August.

Kerry said that he and Sergey Lavrov have agreed that it would be better if the conference could be scheduled as early as circumstance permit. Since it would be difficult to fit this meeting in the schedule for August, it would have to take place later. The exact dates are yet to be decided. Kerry also stated that the conversation on Syria was extremely detailed, and both Kerry and Lavrov agreed that the two countries’ greatest differences are over Syria. Despite these problems, both countries are dedicated to pursuing diplomatic efforts, and further collaboration can result in the convergence of their positions.

Kerry also informed the public that both countries made sufficient progress with regards to other issues that had been discussed in Geneva at the end of June. At those earlier talks, the U.S. was represented by Wendy Sherman, the U.S. Under Secretary of State, and Russia was represented by Mikhail Bogdanov, the Deputy Foreign Minister.

Mikhail Bogdanov, who also serves as the Russian representative for the Middle East, said Moscow officials believed that the Syrian opposition would have no issues in attending the international conference regarding Syria.

In early May of 2013, the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry agreed to organize an international conference so that the Syrian issue could be resolved. The two diplomats agreed that both Russia and the U.S. would encourage and request the government of Syria and the opposition to negotiate with each other and come up with solutions.

The League of Arab States and the U.S. Joint Special Envoy have both encouraged their countries to take a leadership position and collaborate with each other so that the Geneva Declaration can be implemented.

The Geneva Declaration, signed in June 2012, outlines the main steps that are required to put an end to violence. In addition, the declaration authorizes the formation of a translational government, having full executive powers to take control of the situation. This government would be comprised of individuals from the present government, the opposition party, and other related groups. The Geneva Declaration was the product of a series of meetings organized by the Action Group for Syria.