The passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2118 Friday, Sept. 27 was a breakthrough in US-Russia relations and arms control, marking a shift to a new, truly international diplomatic phase toward conflict resolution in Syria.

This is not to say the path will be clear or easy, or that there is any less sense of urgency to ending a war that has cost over 100,000 lives and produced millions of refugees.

In remarks announcing the passage of Resolution 2118 Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he is aiming to convene the Geneva II conference in mid-November, adding that the Syrian opposition “should be represented in a single delegation [at Geneva II]. They should present their coherent and united voices of the Syrians inside and outside.”

Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Walid Moallem told Al-Monitor Saturday, Sept. 28 that his government refuses to deal with the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The coalition is backed by the United States and its allies and is widely accepted as the umbrella organization for opposition groups. Moallem claims the Syrian National Coalition is not representative of Syrians inside the country and squandered its legitimacy by supporting US military strikes in Syria, a charge dismissed by Khalid Saleh, spokesman for the coalition, in another exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.