Syrian government envoys threatened on Friday to leave a peace conference on ending the conflict should efforts to secure a face-to-face meeting with opposition representatives fail.

The United States and India could soon reschedule a visit by the U.S. energy secretary that was cancelled because of a diplomatic row, New Delhi said after foreign minister Salman Khurshid met his counterpart U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday.

Egypt’s military-backed interim president said Thursday that the country’s uprisings have put an end to the police state and to abuses, part of a campaign to rebrand the security forces amid a heavy handed crackdown on Islamists and other critics of the government.

The UN said on Thursday that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Montreux, Switzerland to discuss the Syrian conflict.

U.S. calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia to refrain from violence and continue peace efforts. The U.S. Department of State calls on parties to try to refrain from violence and continue

Ukrainian opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko blamed the government for escalating violence in an article published on Thursday, as another protest leader called for the President to stand down, and the death toll reached at least three.

International mediators opened a series of meetings with the Syrian Government and Opposition on Thursday in an 11th—hour bid to secure their participation in peace talks scheduled for the next day.

US President Barack Obama spoke via phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin on a number of issues namely the Syrian question and Iran’s nuclear programme.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called on Wednesday, Jan 22, for immediate ceasefires in Syria and the opening of humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to civilians. Fabius, addressing an international conference in Switzerland, said: “This terrible situation, which is killing thousands of innocent women, children and

Geneva II peace conference began in Switzerland which world powers hope can at least start a process to end three years of civil war. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon opened what will be a day of speeches at Montreux