United Nations - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday hailed the agreement reached over the weekend by the international action group to end the 16-month crisis in the Middle East country.
"The secretary-general welcomes the agreement reached by the Action Group and the determination expressed by the participants to work jointly to resolve the Syrian crisis," said a statement issued on Monday by Ban's spokesperson.
The action group, which includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and four Middle East countries, on Saturday agreed upon a roadmap that is expected to pave the way for a Syrian-led transition to end the Syrian crisis, which broke out in March 2011.
A joint communique issued after the group's Geneva meeting said that the international community wished to see "an end to violence and human rights abuses" in Syria and the Syrian people enjoying rights to "independently and democratically determine their own future".
The meeting was convened by special envoy Kofi Annan, who has been mediating on behalf of the United Nations and Arab League, to find an end to the bloodshed in Syria.
The agreement "includes the proposed establishment of a transitional governing body, with full executive powers, as part of important agreed principles and guidelines for a Syrian-led political transition that would meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people," the statement said.
"It is now crucial for the Action Group participants to follow through their commitments and work together to put pressure on the parties to prevent further militarization of the conflict and advance the prospects of a political transition," the statement added.
"The joint special envoy needs a united and mobilised international community behind him," it said.
Ban also voiced his hope that all Syrian parties could "take heed of international calls to "cease all violence and recommit to the six-point plan in its entirety".
"The Syrian people and the region cannot afford more atrocities, suffering and chaos," the statement said.
The escalating violence in Syria hobbled the implementation of Annan's six-point plan, which was widely backed by the international community and accepted by the Syrian government, and led to the suspension of a United Nations monitoring mission on June 16.
"The secretary-general hopes that the meeting of the League of Arab States with the Syrian opposition today and tomorrow in Cairo will contribute to the efforts of the joint special envoy and the international community to pave the way toward a meaningful transition in Syria," the statement said.
"It is important that the Syrian opposition increase its cohesion and designate effective representative interlocutors."
Despite the action group's meeting on Saturday, violence and clashes took the lives of tens of civilians over the weekend, particularly in Rif Damascus, Homs and DeirEzzor, the statement noted.
"The humanitarian situation in these areas is very serious with civilians trapped in fighting zones with limited access to water, food and medical supplies," said the statement.
"The secretary-general urges the parties to cease violence now and allow humanitarian workers to reach those in need of assistance urgently," it added.
