France changes tone on Iran’s participation in Geneva confab
French President Francois Hollande says he will welcome the presence of Iran’s President-elect Hojjatoleslam Hassan Rohani in the Geneva conference on Syria “if he can be constructive.”
“On the presence of Iran, let’s wait for the new president to speak and let’s see if he can be constructive,” Hollande said Tuesday on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland.
“My view is that if he (Hojjatoleslam Rohani) is constructive, then yes he will be welcome,” Reuters quoted Hollande as saying.
Hojjatoleslam Rohani emerged victorious in the presidential election of June 14, which was marked by a high voter turnout, winning 50.7 percent of a total of 36,704,156 ballots counted.
The Syria unrest dominated the latest meeting of G8 leaders. In their final declaration, the participants promised to make diplomatic efforts to find a political solution to the crisis in the Arab country.
Syria has been gripped by unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of Syrian army and security forces, have been killed in the violence.
“We remain committed to achieving a political solution to the crisis based on a vision for a united, inclusive and democratic Syria,” the G8 communiqué read, urging the holding of the Geneva conference as soon as possible.
UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said on June 7 that the event might be held in July. The talks had originally been planned to be held in June.
