Following objections by both United States Secretary of State John Kerry and the Syrian opposition forces, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has withdrawn his invitation for Iran to participate in Syrian peace talks, a spokesman said.
The secretary-general’s original invitation threatened to unravel the carefully planned meetings later this week in Switzerland, first in Montreux and then in Geneva. It was actually Secretary of State John Kerry who had earlier this month floated the possibility of Iranian involvement under certain conditions, but Ban Ki-moon went a step further to the dismay of the Obama administration. Ban Ki-moon unilaterally invited Iran without first demanding that it publicly accept the premise that its ally Bashar Assad must leave power.
Just as Syrian opposition coalition threatened to boycott the talks, Iran refused to accept preconditions. A spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. chief was “deeply disappointed” by Iran’s statements. “He continues to urge Iran to join the global consensus behind the Geneva Communique,” spokesman Martin Nesirky said while referring to an earlier agreement. “Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, he has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran’s participation.” Following the withdrawal of the invitation, the Syrian opposition coalition reportedly confirmed it would participate.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “We are hopeful that, in the wake of today’s announcement, all parties can now return to focus on the task at hand, which is bringing and end to the suffering of the Syrian people and beginning a process toward a long overdue political transition.”
The peace talks are intended to bring together for the first time representatives of Assad’s government and members of the Western-backed opposition that is trying to overthrow him but diplomats and political leaders acknowledge that a quick end is very unlikely.
In the Syrian capital of Damascus, Assad held a meeting with the official delegation that will head to the talks telling them to “prevent any foreign intervention no matter what it is,” state TV said. The officials were quoted as saying that they were directed to “start a political dialogue as a first step toward an internal Syrian dialogue inside Syria.” The aim of the conference, dubbed Geneva 2, is to agree on a road map for Syria based on one adopted by the U.S., Russia and other major powers in June of 2012 which includes the creation of a transitional government of national unity, with full executive powers, and eventual elections.