WThe Syrian peace process is the ensemble of initiatives and plans to resolve the Syrian Civil War, which has been ongoing in Syria since 2011 and has spilled beyond its borders. The peace process has been moderated by the Arab League, the UN Special Envoy on Syria, Russia and Western powers. The negotiating parties to end the conflict are typically representatives of the Syrian Ba'athist government and Syrian opposition, while the Western-backed Kurdish forces have stayed out of the negotiations framework. Radical Salafist forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have not engaged in any contacts on peaceful resolution to the conflict.
WThe 2015 Zabadani ceasefire agreement between Syrian opposition forces and the Syrian Armed Forces was achieved on 24 September 2015, with mediation from the United Nations, following the Battle of Zabadani (2015). The agreement was fulfilled on April 2017.
WOn December 19, 2011, the Syrian government agreed to allow foreign observers from the Arab League to monitor Syria's progress in removing troops from protest areas, free political prisoners, and negotiate with dissidents. The mission was in accordance with the Arab League peace plan aimed to resolve the Syrian crisis. The monitors were dispatched and supported by the Arab League.
WIn November 2011 – January 2012, the Arab League twice tried to mediate in the Syrian civil war, without much success.
WAstana Platform was created after several meetings in Nur-Sultan between members of the Syrian opposition forces. The platform is headed by the Syrian politician Randa Kassis.
WSeveral attempts have been made to broker ceasefires in the Syrian Civil War.
WThe federalization of Syria has been proposed as a way to end the Syrian Civil War. In the broadest sense, it means turning the centralized Syrian Arab Republic into a federal republic with autonomous subdivisions. Many powers and actors involved in the Syrian Civil War have entertained the idea of "federal division", not least among them Russia, United Nations representatives, and the United States. President Bashar al-Assad has not ruled out the possibility of a federal democratic state of Syria. Turkey is strongly hostile towards the idea of federalization in Syria because it fears possible repercussions for its own highly centralized state.
WThe Four committees initiative is a proposal put forward by United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura on 29 July 2015 as a way to start the peace process in the Syrian Civil War.
WThe Geneva II Conference on Syria was a United Nations-backed international peace conference on the future of Syria with the aim of ending the Syrian Civil War, by bringing together the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition to discuss the clear steps towards a transitional government for Syria with full executive powers. The conference took place on 22 January 2014 in Montreux, on 23–31 January 2014 in Geneva (Switzerland), and again on 10–15 February 2014.
WThe Geneva peace talks on Syria, also known as Geneva III, are intended peace negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva under the auspices of the UN. Although formally started on 1 February 2016, they were formally suspended only two days later, on 3 February 2016.
WThe Geneva peace talks on Syria in 2017, also called the Geneva IV, V, VI, VII, & VIII talks, were peace negotiations between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition under the auspices of the United Nations. The Geneva IV talks took place between 23 February and 3 March 2017, trying to resolve the Syrian Civil War. The Geneva VII talks began on July 10, 2017. The Geneva VIII talks were initially scheduled to begin on November 28, 2017.
WThe High Negotiations Committee (HNC) is an umbrella body which was created to represent the Syrian opposition in the planned Geneva peace talks in 2016. It is led by Riyad Farid Hijab, who was Prime Minister of Syria from June to August 2012. It is considered to be Syria's main or broadest opposition bloc.
WThe Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria or the six-point peace plan for Syria was launched in March 2012 by the Arab League and the United Nations (UN), when the violent Syrian conflict or civil war had raged for a year.
WThe Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan for Syria refers to the joint UN-Arab League peace mission, headed by Lakhdar Brahimi in order to resolve the Syria Crisis. On 17 August 2012, Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing Kofi Annan, who had previously resigned, following the collapse of his cease fire attempt.
WSafe Zones, more commonly known as "de-escalation zones" were four ceasefire areas established in Syria in order to halt the intense fighting between Syrian government forces and armed rebels in western and southern Syria. The framework for the de-escalation zones were agreed on as a result of the Astana talks between Russia, Iran and Turkey, in May 2017 while the final demarcation of the areas were completed in June 2017. The de-escalation zones agreement was set to expire in 6 months, with the possibility of continued renewal.
WThe 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was held from 26 to 31 August 2012 in Tehran, Iran. The summit was attended by leaders of 120 countries, including 24 presidents, 3 kings, 8 prime ministers and 50 foreign ministers.
WThe Syrian Constitutional Committee is a United Nations-facilitated constituent assembly process that seeks to reconcile the Syrian Government headed by President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition, in the context of the Syrian peace process, by amending the current or adopting a new Constitution of Syria. The UN hopes that this would lead to negotiations which would subsequently lead to a peaceful end of the Syrian Civil War, which had been raging for more than eight years by the time of the committee's formation. The Constitutional Committee was formed with the formal approval of both parties involved—namely the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission, with the facilitation of the United Nations.
WThe United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 was unanimously adopted on 18 December 2015. It calls for a ceasefire and political settlement in Syria.
WThe U.S.–Russia peace proposals on Syria refers to several American–Russian initiatives, including joint United States–Russia proposal issued in May 2013 to organize a conference for obtaining a political solution to the Syrian Civil War. The conference was eventually mediated by Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations peace envoy for Syria.
WThe Vienna peace talks for Syria, as of 14 November 2015 known as the talks of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), are negotiations of foreign powers that began in Vienna, Austria in October 2015 at the level of foreign ministers, to resolve the conflict in Syria, after unsuccessful previous Syrian peace initiatives.