GENEVA: Negotiators failed yesterday to reach an agreement on whether Iran should be invited to Syria peace talks in Switzerland next month, but Tehran is not yet “off the list”, global peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said.
“On Iran, we haven’t agreed yet. It’s no secret that we in the United Nations welcome the participation of Iran, but our partners in the United States are still not convinced that Iran’s participation would be the right thing,” Brahimi told reporters after talks with US and Russian officials.
“We have agreed that we will be talking a little bit more to see if we can come to an agreement about this,” said the veteran Algerian mediator, tasked by the United Nations and the Arab League with brokering peace talks.
With a Syria peace conference finally due to start in Switzerland on January 22, there has been persistent wrangling over a role for key player Iran.
Besides lending direct support to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Iran is a leading backer of the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah fighting alongside his forces.
“Iran is not off the list for the moment,” insisted Brahimi, underlining that talks with Tehran had continued despite the deadlock and that he was convinced it could play a role even without officially attending the conference. “The Iranian authorities have told us ... that yes, they would like to come to Geneva if it is possible, but if it is not possible it is not the end of the world, that they support this process, and they will work with us,” he added.
Key Assad ally Russia has sought to have Iran at the table.
Moscow’s strong support of Assad was highlighted Thursday when it blocked a US-sponsored UN Security Council statement denouncing his government for its brutal offensive on the northern city of Aleppo, where scores of civilians have been killed in recent missile and “barrel bomb” attacks.
Western nations have pushed for Saudi Arabia to take part, and the Sunni kingdom is on the list of two dozen nations invited to the talks, Brahimi said.
Brahimi and senior US and Russian officials met behind closed doors at the United Nations in Geneva, then held broader talks with fellow UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China and France.
He then sat down with envoys from Syria’s neighbours Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey -- who are due to attend the talks, and have taken in the bulk of the 2.4 million refugees from a war that to date has claimed over 126,000 lives.
Beyond the Iran issue, all eyes are on the potential list of delegates from Syria’s warring sides.
“The government has officially informed us that they already have formed their delegation,” Brahimi said, adding that Damascus was set to make the delegates public soon.
AFP
