The G8 summit wrapped up on Tuesday in Northern Ireland with an agreement on Syria, the fight against tax evasion and tax fraud. Addressing a press conference, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that G8 leaders called for a peace conference on Syria to be held in Geneva "as soon as possible". G8 leaders admitted that they benefit from ending the conflicts in Syria and help its citizens achieve what they want. They also pledged almost 1.5 billion USD in humanitarian aid for Syria.

On the same day, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that quitting office while his government battles a countrywide uprising would be a "national betrayal”. He added that his presidential mandate finishes in 2014 and a referendum is the means to determine if the people want him to quit his post. In another development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his country is making all efforts to prevent the Syrian conflict from escalating into a large-scale regional explosion. Lavrov also stressed the importance of bringing peace to this Middle East country and the duty of Russia is to get the Syrian government and its opponents to the negotiating table.