The international part of the Geneva II conference, at which the future of Syria will be discussed, is to take place in the town of Montreux in Switzerland on 22 January.
Following the international meeting, Geneva II, at which the different parties in Syria, including the Kurds, are expected to participate, will commence in Geneva on 24 January.
Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Martin Nesirky, stated that the conference organisers had decided to hold the meeting in Montreux as they had not been able to find a vacant venue.
UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had previously said that the venue for the Geneva II conference might have to be changed on account of "a lack of accommodation"

Geneva II may well be unsuccessful
As the conference date approaches the attitudes of the Syrian opposition is lowering hopes for a resolution. There is a continuing problem over who will represent the opposition.
Russia's Permanent Representative at the UN, Vitali Churkin, said that preparations had not gone well, adding: “There is no guarantee that the Syrian opposition is committed to a political solution" .
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that there was a "great deal of doubt" as regards the success of Geneva II, adding that the moderate opposition had serious problems. Fabius referred to Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying: "France can't see why Assad would hand over all his powers".