The National Coalition voted in Istanbul to attend the proposed Geneva II talks. Photo: AFP

(VOVworld)- Syria will send a delegation to the second conference on Syria, the so-called Geneva II Conference, scheduled to begin on January 22. The government hopes to secure a peaceful future for Syria that will not require President Bashar al-Assad to resign. The announcement was issued on Wednesday by the Syrian Foreign Ministry which stressed that the purpose of Syria’s participation this time is to resolve the Syrian conflict, not to meet the West’s demand for President Assad’s resignation. The Foreign Ministry criticized those western countries who have said Assad should not take part in the transition period in Syria and insisted that Syrians have the right to decide their own future and their leader.