At a press conference held at UN Headquarters in Geneva after the meeting, Mr. Brahimi spoke alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry. The two Government officials have been meeting in Geneva since Thursday discussing a Russian proposal for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control.

“The work you are doing is extremely important in itself … but also important for all those working with you to bring forward the Geneva conference successfully,” Mr. Brahimi told reporters, referring to the long-proposed international peace conference on Syria commonly referred to as “Geneva II.”

Mr. Brahimi has been hard at work on the diplomatic front to bring the conference to fruition, including in discussions last week at the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg. The goal of a second Geneva conference would to be to achieve a political solution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the Syrian Government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communiqué, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on 30 June 2012.

In his comments, Mr. Kerry thanked the United Nations and Mr. Brahimi for hosting discussions on Geneva II. Those discussions have been productive and timely, as he and Mr. Lavrov were meeting on Russia’s recent initiative to “gain control of, remove and destroy chemical weapons in Syria and we would both agree that we have constructive conversations.”

“President is Obama is deeply committed to a negotiated solution and we know that Russia is likewise. We are working hard to find common ground to make that happen. We have both agreed to do homework required to make it happen,” Mr. Kerry said, announcing that he and Mr. Lavrov planned to meet in New York during the general debate of the UN General Assembly, which will open on 24 September.

While the two leaders would further consider the matter, including possibly settling on a date for the Geneva II conference, much of the way ahead “will depend on achieving success in the next hours and days” on the question of Syria’s chemical weapons, Mr. Kerry said.

“Both of us, Sergei Lavrov and I, our countries, our Presidents, are deeply concerned about the death toll and destruction and the acts on all sides that are creating more and more refugees, more and more of a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said, adding that the two Governments were committed to working together.

Speaking next, Mr. Lavrov said that now that Syria has signed the legislative decree providing for the accession of Syria to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, “we have to engage our professionals … and the United Nations to design a road so that the issue is resolved quickly, professionally as soon as practical.

“We are very glad that Mr. Brahimi has invited us to discuss a longer term goal for Syria, namely preparations for the so-called Geneva II conference. From the very beginning of the Syrian conflict, Russia and the Russian President have been promoting a peaceful resolution,” he said.

Mr Lavrov noted that Russia had initiated of the conference from which had emerged the Geneva communiqué agreed and signed “by nearly all the major players, including the United Nations, countries in the region and the P-5 [the permanent members of the Security Council].”

“It is very unfortunate that for a long period the communiqué was basically abandoned and we were not able to have Security Council endorsement of the very important document as is,” he said, thanking Mr. Kerry for his efforts to re-energize the communiqué and work with Russia towards its implementation including through the holding of a new Geneva conference. He said he was very grateful for the discussions with Mr. Brahimi.

Meanwhile, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, which is currently in session in Geneva, issued a letter to both Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Kerry drawing their attention o the work of the independent international commission of inquiry on Syria, which the Council established in 2011.

The Council President, Ambassador Remigiusz Henczel of Poland stressed that the commission had yet to be granted access to Syria, despite repeated calls on Damascus to allow the experts to enter the country. The Council President suggests that the Russian and US officials might take up the matter during the scope of their meetings in Geneva.

The commission presented its latest report to the Human Rights Council on Monday, citing ongoing incidents of murder, rape, torture, widespread attacks on civilians and hostage-taking committed by Syrian forces and anti-Government armed groups. It said that “the perpetrators of these violations and crimes, on all sides, act in defiance of international law. They do not fear accountability.”

The panel, which described Syria today as “a battlefield [where] massacres are perpetrated with impunity [and] and untold number of Syrians have disappeared,” reported that Government and pro-Government forces in Syria have continued to conduct widespread attacks on the civilian population with impunity, committing murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearance as crimes against humanity, stressed that there is no military solution to the conflict.

“The Secretary-General welcomes, therefore, President Obama’s decision to take time to further explore this diplomatic opportunity to achieve this crucially important objective,” a UN spokesman said in New York.

Mr. Ban’s statement follows a flurry of diplomatic activity noted by the media in the past 72 hours, following a reported Russian proposal for Damascus to surrender its chemical weapons and place them under international control. In the meantime, evidence collected by a UN team probing possible chemical weapons use in Syria on 21 August is being examined by laboratories in Europe.

In a national address last night, US President Barack Obama cited “encouraging signs in recent days” and announced that he was sending US Secretary of State John Kerry to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday for further talks, and that he would continue discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Both countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council – along with China France and the United Kingdom – which has been deadlocked over a solution to the 30 month crisis in Syria.

The UN chief welcomed the efforts by the Russian Federation to advance a possible agreement. “He hopes the US-Russian meetings later this week will be productive in moving toward a process for addressing the Syrian chemical weapons threat which all parties will be committed to,” the spokesperson said.

“The confirmed use of chemical weapons would be an outrageous crime for which there must be accountability and determined efforts to prevent any recurrence,” the statement said.

Addressing world leaders at a working dinner, Mr. Ban urged the leaders of the Permanent Five members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States – as well as from some of the Council’s non-permanent members to “discharge their responsibility fully and for the sake of the people of Syria.”

He also reminded the Council members that they have a “collective responsibility to mankind” to act, but reiterated that as they debate courses of action, any decision “should be taken within the framework of the UN Charter, as a matter of principle.”

Highlighting the human toll of the conflict, Mr. Ban reiterated that more than 100,000 people have died, 4.25 million people have been displaced within the country, and at least another two million are now refugees.

He urgently asked the leaders gathered to fill the nearly $4.4 billion gap for humanitarian and refugee efforts in Syria and neighbouring countries – particularly Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey – as well as in North African. All of which had been “generous in hosting Syrian refugees.”

Mr. Brahimi, the Joint Special Representative of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syrian, arrived in the Russian city earlier today at Mr. Ban’s request.

The UN chief said that he had asked Mr. Brahimi to join him in St. Petersburg to press for the early convening of an international meeting on Syria to be held in Geneva with participation of senior Russian, United States and UN officials.

Mr. Brahimi said that the Syrian crisis had reached such an “urgent” stage that the Secretary-General thought it might be one of the questions to be addressed either by the G20 itself or on the margins of the summit.

“I’m sure it would be taken up in all the meetings the Secretary-General is going to have,” Mr. Brahimi told UNTV, adding that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov might organize a special meeting on Syria.

Meanwhile, the biomedical and environmental samples collected by the by Swedish scientist Dr. Ake Sellstrom and his team at sites in Syria where chemical weapons were allegedly used on 21 August, have now arrived at four laboratories in Europe for analyses.

Mr. Ban said scientists are working “around the clock” to ensure a rapid result but one that also respects the highest professional standards and without compromising its integrity.

Once results are available, Mr. Ban noted that he would report them “promptly” to the Security Council and all 193 UN Member States.

“We strongly endorse the decision to hold as soon as possible the Geneva Conference on Syria to implement fully the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, which sets out a number of key steps beginning with agreement on a transitional governing body with full executive powers, formed by mutual consent,” the communiqué stated.

However, the final communiqué failed to mention the fate of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Instead it condemned the use of chemical weapons generally and said the UN should be allowed to do an objective investigation.

The G8 leaders also expressed their deep concern “at the appalling human tragedy” that the UN estimates has cost the lives of over 93,000 people and led to 4.2 million internally displaced persons and 1.6 million refugees.

“We acknowledge the vital humanitarian role played by neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees, above all Lebanon and Jordan, in dealing with the significant economic and security pressures they are facing as a result of the conflict and refugee influx,” it added.

Meanwhile, divisions remained as Russia stood by its embattled ally rejecting reports of Assad’s regime using chemical weapons and said at his closing news conference that there is no proof that the Syrian government used the weapons.

The Syria conflict has put at odds Russia and Washington saying last week that it would start arming the rebels against the Syrian regime.

Putin, said that Russia would not rule out new arms supplies.

“We are supplying arms to the legitimate government in accordance with legal contracts,” Putin told a news conference according to AFP.

G8 leaders pledged around $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid with President Obama announcing over $300 million alone in additional life-saving humanitarian assistance.

Other issues that dominated the meeting were tax evasion and transparency.

However, U.S intelligence services stressed that they were still not 100 percent sure.

“What we say is that our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

“This assessment is based in part on physiological samples. Our standard of evidence must build on these intelligence assessments as we seek to establish credible and corroborated facts.”

President Obama has said the use of chemical weapons by Syria, or the transfer of stockpiles to terrorist groups, would be a “red line” that could trigger U.S. reaction.

“We go on to reaffirm that the President has set a clear red line as it relates to the United States that the use of chemical weapons or the transfer of chemical weapons to terrorist groups is a red line that is not acceptable to us, nor should it be to the international community. It’s precisely because we take this red line so seriously that we believe there is an obligation to fully investigate any and all evidence of chemical weapons use within Syria.”

Meanwhile, UN leader Ban Ki-moon renewed a call for Syria to let inspectors into the country.

Syria asked for a UN investigation but has since refused to let a UN team waiting in the region into the country.

Assad’s government only wants its claims that opposition rebels used chemical arms to be investigated. Ban has said the team should also look into opposition claims.

The Syrian civil war has persisted, with an estimated 70,000 dead.

Egypt Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the FJP, denounced the Marathon bombings on Tuesday and offered sincere condolences to victims’ families.

“ The FJP offers heartfelt sympathies and solemn condolences to the American people and the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured. Islamic Sharia (law), accepted by the FJP as a framework of reference, strongly condemns attacks on civilians and terrorizing innocent people, regardless of their religion, race, color or sex,” FJP said in a statement on its website.

“The heinous attacks in Boston today highlight the need for the international community to unite in order to achieve justice and a decent life for all peoples and communities to ensure non-recurrence of such violent and tragic crimes.”

The king of Saudi Arabia also condemned the Boston Marathon bombings, saying no religion or morals would condone such an attack, the Associated Press reported.

King Abdullah said the perpetrators of such “heinous terrorist acts” are “enemies of any humane considerations.” He said the perpetrators represent only themselves.

Saudi Ambassador Al-Jubeir in Washington expressed confidence that the relevant authorities will bring those responsible for this crime to justice.

Meanwhile, in Washington, a Saudi embassy official said Saudis have not been informed by the U.S. of any Saudi who is considered a person of interest in the Boston Marathon bombings. The official confirmed that a Saudi woman, who was watching the race with her husband and child, was injured.

US President Barack Obama said at a brief news conference on Tuesday that investigators had yet to find a culprit for the two bombings at Monday’s Boston that killed three people and injured 176.

The explosions took place about 10 seconds and about 90 meters apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet.

A diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity told the French news agency that the two heads discussed ways to renew peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Prime Minister’s office did not confirm or deny the report.

Netanyahu’s visit to Jordan, comes a week after violence and protests against Israel in the West Bank were set off, sparked by the death of Jaradat, 30. The PA blamed Israel, saying Jaradat was tortured to death.

The last meeting between the two reportedly took place in a few months ago, when Netanyahu traveled to Amman to discuss Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons.

Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been frozen since 2010, over Israel’s illegal settlement activities.

The Palestinians demand a settlement freeze as a precondition for talks, while Israel has called for immediate talks with no preconditions.

The latest talks between Netanyahu and Abdullah come ahead of an expected visit by US President Barack Obama.

It will be Obama’s first visit to Israel since taking office in January 2009.

The Tel Aviv regime has increased its illegal settlement expansion following an upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN to a non-member observer state in November.

The Israeli regime plans to build more than 5,000 new settlements in East al-Quds despite objections from the international community.

Much of the international community considers the settlements illegal.

There was a sudden explosion of jubilation at Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago. President Obama tweeted a photograph of himself hugging his wife Michelle with the caption “four more years”.

Meanwhile, Republican candidate Mitt Romney has conceded defeat in the race for the White House, saying: “I have just called President Obama to congratulate him on his victory.”

Obama defeated Romney in a series of key swing states despite a weak financial recovery and high unemployment.

The president, who made history by becoming America’s first black president in 2008 has captured at least 275 electoral votes – more than the majority of 270 required for victory in Tuesday’s quadrennial election while Romney captured 203 according to CNN.

Obama won a string of battleground states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Hampshire, meaning that the win was all but guaranteed, though the vote-counting was far from complete.

Romney has taken 203 electoral votes from 23 states, including Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Alabama, according to Washington Post.

As soon as the results were announced by news networks, Obama posted on his official account on Twitter: “This happened because of you. Thank you,” signed with his initials “bo” to mark it as a personal message.

At least 120 million American voters were expected to cast votes in the race between the Democratic Obama and Romney after a campaign which mainly focused on how to repair the ailing U.S. economy.

As expected, television networks projected that Republicans would win the House of Representatives.

Democrats also held onto their majority in the Senate, picking up two seats in early returns with the possibility of a third.

Obama joined New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and other officials to inspect damage from the massive storm that struck the East Coast.

Across the state, the storm damaged homes, flooded communities, and left more than 2 million people without power. According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sandy killed at last 18 people in New York, while at least 64 storm-related deaths were reported nationwide to date.

“One of our challenges now is to get back to normalcy,” said Gov. Christie. “And so the things we need to do is to make sure that we get power restored as quickly as possible; make sure that people have clean drinking water, and waste water treatment plants are working; hospitals are taken care of the way they need to; and that we get kids back to school.

Christie, a supporter of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said he “can’t thank the president enough” for his concern and compassion during the storm.

President Obama outlined the steps being taken by federal emergency responders. Even before the storm hit, FEMA and other groups were able to preposition supplies like water, food, and power generators. Now more than 2,000 FEMA personnel are on the ground in the state, and the President promised that the recovery effort would continue.

“Number one, and most important, our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones,” he said. “For those like the people I just had the chance to meet on this block and throughout New Jersey and throughout the region whose lives have been upended, my second message is we are here for you, and we will not forget; we will follow up to make sure that you get all the help that you need until you’ve rebuilt.”

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney returned to the campaign trail Wednesday with three stops in Florida attempting to win a battleground state.

Obama’s campaign announced Wednesday he planned to resume campaign travel Thursday after a three-day pause with stops in Nevada, Colorado and Wisconsin.

“We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is if we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus,” Obama said.

“That would change my equation. . . . We’re monitoring that situation very carefully. We have put together a range of contingency plans.”

Last month, Syria acknowledged for the first time that it had chemical weapons and said it could use them if foreign countries intervened in their affairs. The threat drew strong warnings from Washington and its allies.

“We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people,” Obama told the impromptu news conference on Monday admitting he was not “absolutely confident” the stockpile was secure.

Western countries and Israel have voiced fears that chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militant groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has previously voiced fears that chemical weapons could fall into hands of militant groups and has warned that it would take military action, if needed, to ensure those weapons did not reach Assad’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

The US president’s comments came as a female Japanese reporter was killed while covering clashes in the city of Aleppo, according to the Washington Post. 

The dead reporter was 45-year-old Mika Yamamoto, was the fourth foreign reporter killed in Syria since March 2011.

Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights  said more than 140 people were killed in Syria on Monday.

The opposition Syrian National Council said that government forces using combat helicopters, tanks and heavy artillery had carried out “savage” attacks on Herak, south of Damascus, warning that food and medicines were running out, according to Al Jazeera.

23,000 people have now been killed since March last year, according to the Observatory, while the UN puts the death toll at  17,000.