Syria on Sunday confirmed its planned attendance at a peace conference proposed by the United States and Russia to negotiate an end to the civil war tearing up the country, dpa reported.
"I informed the Iraqi officials of Syria's decision to participate in the Geneva conference," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said during an unscheduled visit to Baghdad.
"Since the eruption of the crisis in Syria, we have believed that dialogue among the Syrian people is the solution," he added.
"We believe, in all good faith, that the international conference is an opportunity for a political solution to the crisis in Syria." Al-Moalem was speaking after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who said in a statement he was backing the proposed parley, which is expected to take place in Geneva.
Moscow, a key all of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had said earlier in the week that Damascus agreed in principle to take part in the conference.
A date for the conference has not been set yet because of what Moscow described as a lack of unity among Syria's opposition.
Officials in the main opposition Syrian National Coalition have signaled readiness to attend the conference, but said they first wanted guarantees that al-Assad would step down eventually.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are due to meet in Paris Monday for further talks regarding Syria.
Washington and Moscow unveiled earlier this month a plan to bring both Damascus and the opposition to the table to negotiate an end to the country's 26-month conflict, which the United Nations estimated has left at least 80,000 people dead.