(CNN) -- Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. and Arab League point man shuttling from capital to capital to halt the war in Syria, is pinning his hopes on the formation of a transitional government in Damascus that would hold power until an election.
A June 30 communique issued in Switzerland by major world powers would provide a template for Syrian-led political change and an end to the carnage in an Arab land engulfed by daily fighting and marked by misery and chaos, Brahimi said."The situation in Syria now presents a grave danger; not just to the Syrian people, but also to the neighboring countries and the world," he told reporters Thursday in the Syrian capital. "Time is in no one's favor."The so-called Geneva plan united countries that had been at odds on how to handle the Syrian crisis. Russia and China joined France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Turkey in agreeing on the plan. Arab League nations and Turkey also signed on to it.if (typeof cnnArticleGallery == "undefined") {var cnnArticleGallery = {};}if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList =="undefined"){cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList = [];}var expGallery51=new ArticleExpandableGallery();expGallery51.setImageCount(32);//cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("Showdown in Syria", 1);
A man walks near a missile on Tuesday, December 25, at an army barracks outside Damascus, Syria, that has been taken over by the Free Syrian Army. Click through to view images from Syria from December, or see photos of the conflict from November.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":true,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":1,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Free Syrian Army fighters prepare a homemade missile before they launch it toward the military airport in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, December 23. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":2,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
Free Syrian Army members display shrapnel from what they say are the remains of a rocket fired from the Syrian army in northern Aleppo on Thursday, December 20. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":3,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
An unexploded bomb is seen lodged in a street in Ghouta, east of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, December 19.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":4,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his weapon through a hole in the wall of the structure where he is positioned in the Qastal Harami area of Aleppo on December 19.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":5,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A child sits in the back of a vehicle at the border crossing leading to Masnaa, Lebanon, as people wait to stamp their documents before leaving Syria on December 19. Click through to view images from Syria from December, or see photos of the conflict from November.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":6,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Palestinian children who fled the Syrian refugee camp of Yarmuk wait at the Masnaa Border Crossing leading into Lebanon on December 19.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":7,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Syrians line up outside a bakery offering cheap bread in Aleppo, Syria on Sunday, December 16. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":8,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
A Syrian boy walks past a rebel fighter in the northern town of Darkush, Syria, on Friday, December 14.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":9,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Two men on a motorcycle lead a horse through the northern town of Darkush, Syria, on December 14, 2012.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":10,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Rebel fighters push out a boat carrying two Syrian women fleeing to Turkey through the Orontes River near the northern Syrian town of Darkush on December 14.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":11,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Passengers gather at a terminal at the airport in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday, December 12.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":12,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A member of the Syrian opposition's Al-Buraq Brigade stands guard on a main road in the northern Syrian town of Ain Dakna near the Turkish border on Monday, December 10. Click through to view images of the fighting from December, or see photos of the conflict from November.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":13,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position as he aims his weapon in Aleppo's al-Amereya district on Tuesday, December 11.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":14,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Men warm themselves by a fire on a street corner in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, December 9.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":15,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A rebel soldier watches Al-Jazeera news in a shop near the front lines in Aleppo on December 9.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":16,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
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Syrians mourn a fallen fighter at a rebel base in the al-Fardos area of Aleppo on Saturday, December 8.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":18,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A Syria rebel commander sits behind a desk in his bombed-out position in Aleppo on December 8.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":19,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A Syrian rebel fighter emerges from a hole in a wall in Aleppo on December 8.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":20,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Rebel fighters take part in a demonstration against the Syrian regime after Friday prayers in Aleppo on December 7.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":21,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A wounded rebel fighter is transported to a hospital in the back of a truck in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday, December 6. At least 23 people died in Syria on Thursday, most of them in Damascus and Aleppo, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":22,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
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Angelina Jolie, special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, meets with Syrian refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp outside Mafraq, Jordan, on December 6. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":24,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
In this handout from the Shaam News Network, Free Syrian Army fighters stand guard against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-khalidiya neighborhood of Homs on Tuesday, December 4. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":25,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
In this handout from the Shaam News Network, Free Syrian Army fighters take cover in destroyed buildings during clashes with regime forces on December 4.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":26,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
Syrians cross the border from Ras al-Ain, Syria, to the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar on Tuesday, December 4. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":27,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
Boys walk through a damaged area In Aleppo, Syria, seen through a destroyed car on December 4.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":28,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
A man inspects rubble in a neighborhood of Aleppo on Sunday, December 2.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":29,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} 
The bodies of three children reportedly killed in a mortar shell attack are laid out for relatives to identify at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on December 2. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":30,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
Smoke rises from fighting in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts of Aleppo on Saturday, December 1. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":31,"title":"Showdown in Syria"}
Syrian-Kurdish women and members of the Popular Protection Units, an armed opposition group to the Syrian government, stand guard during a comrade's funeral in a northern Syrian border village on December 1.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":5,"y":1,"pos":32,"title":"Showdown in Syria"} Photos: Showdown in Syria Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {//report the first gallery image to ADBPif(typeof(cnn_adbptrackpgalimg) == 'function' && typeof(cnnArticleGallery) != 'undefined') {cnn_adbptrackpgalimg(cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[0].image, "");}});var currExpandable="expand25";if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);}var mObj={};mObj.type='video';mObj.contentId='';mObj.source='world/2012/12/24/jamjoom-syria-bakery-attack.cnn';mObj.videoSource='CNN';mObj.videoSourceUrl='';mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121224031213-jamjoom-syria-bakery-attack-00002015-story-body.jpg";mObj.lgImageX=300;mObj.lgImageY=169;mObj.origImageX="214";mObj.origImageY="120";mObj.contentType='video';CNN.expElements.expand25Store=mObj;var currExpandable="expand35";if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);}var mObj={};mObj.type='video';mObj.contentId='';mObj.source='world/2012/12/23/jamjoon-syria-violence-saturday.cnn';mObj.videoSource='CNN';mObj.videoSourceUrl='';mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121223121744-jamjoon-syria-violence-saturday-00003909-story-body.jpg";mObj.lgImageX=300;mObj.lgImageY=169;mObj.origImageX="214";mObj.origImageY="120";mObj.contentType='video';CNN.expElements.expand35Store=mObj;"The Geneva conference held in June this year includes elements that are sufficient for a plan to end the crisis in the next few coming months," he said. "It was clear in Geneva and it is now clearer that the change required is not cosmetic. Syria and the Syrian people need, want and look forward to real change."World powers have been seeking a solution to the 21 months of conflict in Syria. There's widespread support for President Bashar al-Assad leaving power in any change of government.Brahimi foresees a transitional government with "full executive powers" that would govern during "the transitional period, which will end with elections.""The transitional period should not be allowed to lead to the collapse of the state and its institutions. On the contrary, everyone should cooperate -- the Syrians and those who assist them -- to preserve these institutions and to rebuild and strengthen them," he said.Brahimi said violence must stop and "strong observation" by a peacekeeping mission would be key."When we reach a stage of speaking about peacekeeping forces, it means that there is an agreement, and thankfully, the parties have agreed that they need these forces," he said."No one will bring forces into Syria from a country that is not approved by either of the Syrian parties."A key unanswered question from Geneva is whether al-Assad could possibly be part of a transitional government.According to the communique, the transitional government "could include members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent."Over the last few weeks, Brahimi has held discussions with Syrian, Russian and U.S. officials, and is expected to visit Moscow on Saturday. Russia's role in forging peace is key because Moscow has confounded Western and Arab nations by blocking tough action in the U.N. Security Council against Syria.Russia has had good relations with the Assad regime, but it has grown angry with the warfare and wants to resolve a conflict that has left well over 40,000 people dead."In our talks with Brahimi and with our American colleagues, we are trying to feel a way out of this situation on the basis of our common plan of action that was agreed on in Geneva in June," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said, according to Russia's state-run RIA Novosti."We plan to discuss a range of issues linked to a political and diplomatic settlement in Syria, including Brahimi's efforts aimed at halting the violence and the start of a comprehensive national dialogue."Lukashevich isn't ruling out engaging with the Syrian National Coalition, the movement recognized by nations opposed to the Assad government."But when and at what level, that's an entirely different matter," he said, according to RIA Novosti.Brahimi told reporters that the plight of displaced people reflects the misery across Syria. Since the civil war began last year, more than 540,000 refugees have spilled into nearby countries such as Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt."When we say there are [4] million internally displaced, what does it mean? It means that there are children and women who have nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat and are roaming the streets. We should thank their Syrian brethren who, in many cases, share their bread with them. These 4 million people are in need for bread and medicine," he said."You must have seen on TV boys breaking their desks in school to bring some wood for their families for heat. This is the meaning of what is happening in Syria."With host countries strained and a brutal winter settling in on refugee camps, the crisis will only get worse. The U.N. humanitarian affairs office says the number of refugees is expected to double to 1.1 million next year. Syrians are "suffering unbearably," and the situation is "worsening," he said."These figures insufficiently express the suffering of the Syrian people and the injustice they suffer from. And, therefore, those who can have mercy on the Syrian people should do so. This is what we should not forget. We do not speak in a vacuum or about theoretical things; we are speaking about humans of flesh and blood, men, women, elderly, young children. This is the situation that we are speaking about," Brahimi said.At least 80 people have been killed in Syrian violence Thursday, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition group.CNN cannot independently verify opposition and government reports from Syria, as the government has severely restricted international journalists' access.
December 21, 2012 -- Updated 1120 GMT (1920 HKT) 
Ivan Watson looks at the latest on Syria today. Among the topics is Putin saying he's not concerned by the Assad regime.
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The recent confrontation could ignite regional convulsions as Turkey is sucked into Syria, leading to belated actions from the international community.
Are you in Syria? Share your stories, videos and photos with the world on CNN iReport, but please stay safe.Today's five most popular stories
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