Iran must attend Geneva II: Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Iran must participate in the international conference on the crisis in Syria planned to be held in Geneva, Switzerland.

“All those with influence on the situation must certainly be invited… this includes not only Arab countries but also Iran,” Lavrov said at a news conference on Tuesday.

“External actors must be fully represented. Whoever has an influence on any Syrian group is ought to sit at the negotiating table during the initial stage of the conference,” he added.

The planned Geneva meeting was proposed by Russia and the United States on May 7. The date of the long-awaited event has changed many times as Syria’s foreign-backed opposition remains divided over attending the talks.

Iran has said that it is ready to take part in the planned Geneva II conference “if invited without any preconditions.”

“If invited without any preconditions, Iran will participate in the [Geneva II] conference in order to help resolve the Syrian crisis,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a meeting with UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in New York in late September.

Brahimi and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have also supported Iran’s participation in the international conference.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011.