UNITED NATIONS, January 06, 22:02 /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on January 13 to discuss Iran’s role in a forthcoming peace conference on Syria, U.N. Secretary-General’s deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists on Monday.
According to earlier reports, the two foreign ministers are to meet in Paris.
Meanwhile, Farhan Haq said that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was in favour of inviting Iran to take part in the peace conference but the final decision on that matter was up to the initiators of this conference - Russia and the United States. According to Haq, later in the day the United Nations will come out with a statement on the situation over invitations to this forum.
The conference, originally scheduled to take place in Geneva, will now be held in two parts, with the opening session in Montreux, and, after a day’s break, moving on January 24 to the world body’s headquarters in Geneva.
According to earlier reports, the two foreign ministers are to meet in Paris.
Meanwhile, Farhan Haq said that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was in favour of inviting Iran to take part in the peace conference but the final decision on that matter was up to the initiators of this conference - Russia and the United States. According to Haq, later in the day the United Nations will come out with a statement on the situation over invitations to this forum.
The conference, originally scheduled to take place in Geneva, will now be held in two parts, with the opening session in Montreux, and, after a day’s break, moving on January 24 to the world body’s headquarters in Geneva.
- The conference will bring the Syrian government and the opposition to a negotiating table for the first time since the conflict started in March 2011.
http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/713844
6/1/14
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Iran not invited to Syria peace talks in Geneva ....
ReplyDeleteU.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday started sending out invitations to the planned Geneva II peace conference on Syria but Iran was not on the first list, a U.N. spokesman said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet on Jan. 13 in a bid to decide on whether Iran should take part in the conference due to be held on Jan. 22, said U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
Earlier, U.S officials in Brussels said Iran could participate in the talks if it helps put an end to the Syrian regime’s bombardment of Aleppo and improve humanitarian access to trapped civilians.
“There are also steps that Iran could take to show the international community that they are serious about being a positive player,” a senior State Department official told reporters travelling with Secretary of State John Kerry.
“Those include calling for an end to the bombardment by the Syrian regime of their own people, it includes calling for encouraging humanitarian access.”
However, one U.S. official said Washington still believed it was “less likely than likely” that Iran would play any role at the Jan. 22 peace conference on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, even on the sidelines.
Another official said Iran and the United States had not discussed the matter directly. All the officials declined to be named.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday reiterated U.S. opposition to Iran being a formal member of the so-called “Geneva 2” talks because it does not support the 2012 international agreement on Syria, dubbed “Geneva 1.”
[With AFP and Reuters]
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/06/U-S-officials-urge-Iran-to-help-in-Syria.html
6/1/14