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Iranian FM: No preconditions for joining Geneva 2 conference

Iran Materials 7 January 2014 18:25 (UTC +04:00)
Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran will not accept any preconditions for joining Geneva 2 peace conference, Mehr news agency reported on Jan. 7.
Iranian FM: No preconditions for joining Geneva 2 conference

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran will not accept any preconditions for joining Geneva 2 peace conference, Mehr news agency reported on Jan. 7.

Zarif made the remarks during his meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad in Tehran on Jan. 7.

Iran will attend the upcoming international peace talks about the crisis in Syria without any preconditions if invited officially, he added.

Iranian's FM underlined that Iran's role and influence in resolving the regional issues can not be ignored.

Zarif went on to say that Iran will use every effort to find a solution to the Syrian crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Jan. 5 that Iran could still play a helpful role in finding a solution to the conflict in Syria even on the sidelines of peace talks in Geneva later this month, Reuters reported.

Kerry said it would be difficult to see how Iran, which did not support last year's international accord on Syria, could be a "ministerial partner" in the Geneva 2 talks slated to begin on Jan. 22.

Iran is the main backer, along with Russia, of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a conflict that has lasted more than two years, killed more than 100,000 people and uprooted millions more.

Tehran's participation in the peace talks would likely strengthen any agreement reached in Geneva, but Washington has opposed Iran's attendance because it has not signed on to a core element of the so-called "Geneva 1" framework. This says a future Syrian government must be formed by "mutual consent" of the authorities and the opposition, a stance the United States says means Assad cannot stay in power.

Edited by C.N.

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