Iran presence at Syria talks not decided: Brahimi

UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi says Iran’s participation at the upcoming Syria peace conference has not been decided upon yet due to the US opposition.

“The US is still not convinced Iran’s participation would be the right thing to do,” said Brahimi at a Friday news conference after a day of meetings with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Syria’s neighbors Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq

“Iran is not off the list for the moment,” he noted.

Brahimi said about 30 countries would be invited to a one-day meeting on January 22 in the Swiss city of Montreux.

Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Brazil, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will be among the invitees.

The Syrian opposition has also opposed Iran’s participation in the long-awaited peace conference.

On December 16, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Islamic Republic would take part in the Syria peace conference if it is invited to the event without any preconditions.

Russia has repeatedly stressed that Syria’s crisis could not be settled without Iran engagement.
In a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in New York on October 2, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also underscored Tehran’s decisive role in the settlement of the crisis in Syria, stressing the need for Iran’s presence in any international talks on Syria.

The UN has set January 22, 2014 as the date for the Syria peace talks.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. Reports indicate that the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.