DAMASCUS, Syria — The Syrian government said today it will participate in U.N.-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending the country’s civil war, but insisted that it is not going to the conference to hand over power.

The United Nations on Monday announced that the long-delayed peace talks will begin Jan. 22 in Geneva. The meeting, which would be the first face-to-face talks between President Bashar Assad’s government and its opponents since the Syrian war began, has raised hopes that a resolution to a conflict that activists say has killed more than 120,000 people could be within reach.

In Tehran, the Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers called for a ceasefire as soon as possible.

The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group has said it is ready to attend, but wants the government to establish humanitarian corridors and release political prisoners as a confidence-building measure before it makes a final decision.

In a statement today, Syria’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the government will attend, saying Assad will send an official delegation to the Geneva conference. The ministry stressed that the representatives “will be going to Geneva not to hand over power to anyone” but to meet with those “who support a political solution for Syria’s future.”