Azerbaijan, Baku, June 15 /Trend S.Isayev/
The U.S. does not think that Iran is an appropriate participant in the meeting of contact group countries' on Syria, U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at a daily briefing in Washington, U.S. State Department website reported.
The UN diplomats have said that the meeting of contact group contries on Syria can be hosted in Geneva by the end of this month, namely on June 30.
Kofi Annan expressed hope that Iran could take part in this meeting, noting that the Islamic Republic is an important regional country.
Annan also noted that the contact group should also consist of such countries as turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He noted that these countries have influence on both Syrian government and the opposition.
Victoria Nuland noted that the position of U.S. on Iran has not changed.
"We are continuing to talk to Joint Special Envoy Annan and the UN about the parameters of the meeting. I don't think the parameters have been decided. We've made absolutely clear what the parameters are for us," Nuland said. "It needs to be a meeting about the post-Assad transition strategy, and we don't see Iran as having a place there."
World powers are working towards holding a crisis meeting on Syria in Geneva on June 30 to try to get a tattered peace plan back on track, diplomats said on Thursday, although Britain said the idea of Iran being in the meeting was "probably unworkable".
Kofi Annan, the United Nations-Arab League mediator, has called for convening the Contact Group as soon as possible but the United States opposes the involvement of Iran, Syria's main regional ally.
British Foreign Minister William Hague - who held talks on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi on the margins of a conference in Kabul - appeared to rule out Iran taking part in the Contact Group.
Proposals to hold such a meeting have gathered pace as violence in Syria has escalated in recent weeks, with the United States and many European countries frustrated by Russian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite evidence that government-backed forces have carried out massacres.
Russia and China blocked two attempts to agree a U.N. Security Council resolution to put pressure on Syria last year, forcing Assad's critics to look for other ways to bring an end to the violence.
An uprising against Assad's rule began in March 2011 with peaceful demonstrations for democracy but has developed into something close to civil war.
All sides signed up to Annan's six-point peace plan, but an April 12 ceasefire at the centre of his proposal has been widely violated, prompting many observers to say the plan has failed.
It should also be noted that France does not intend to invite Iran to the "Friends of Syria" meeting that is scheduled to take place on July 6.