Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
Jan 7, 2014, Press TV
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his support for Iran’s participation in the upcoming Geneva II Conference on resolving the Syrian crisis.
Ban said in a statement on Monday that the final decision on the participation of the Islamic Republic in the Geneva II meeting will be made in a January 13 meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
“We very much hope they will reach agreement on Iran’s participation,” the UN secretary general said, emphasizing that the active support of regional powers in the event is “critical.”
Also on Monday, a spokesperson for the UN chief underlined the secretary general’s position on the Islamic Republic’s presence at the Geneva II meeting.
“The Secretary-General is in favor of inviting Iran, but discussions between the initiating States have not produced final results yet,” the spokesperson said, referring to the US and Russia, which first agreed on holding the conference on May 7, 2013.
Iran says it would take part in the Geneva II talks if invited and without any preconditions.
Moreover, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham dismissed in a Monday statement earlier remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry that Iran should only help with efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria on the “sidelines.”
“From the outset of the Syrian crisis, the Islamic Republic of Iran has said that a political solution will be the only option to defuse tension in the country, and has always welcomed strategies that would safeguard the rights of the Syrian people through Syrian-Syrian dialog,” said Afkham.
“However, in order to take part in the Geneva II conference, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not accept any proposal that does not respect its dignity,” She added.
The UN in its press release announced that Secretary General Ban is sending invitations “to the list of invitees determined at the 20 December Trilateral meeting between Russia, the United States and the Joint Special Representative of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.”
On November 25, the UN set January 22, 2014 as the date for the Geneva 2 talks.
Over 100,000 people have been killed and 8 million others driven from their homes, 2 million of them seeking refuge in neighboring countries, since the Syrian conflict first erupted in March 2011.
