Iran must attend Syria talks: Russia

The Russian Foreign Ministry has renewed Moscow™s call for the participation of Iran in an international conference on Syria that is expected to be held in Geneva.

œThis is a matter of principle because the composition of the conference should be balanced,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told the ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday.

Bogdanov acknowledged Washington™s opposition to inviting Iran to the peace conference, but insisted that Iran™s absence in the Geneva-1 talks last summer “was a mistake and it should not be repeated.”

œIranians and other influential external players should be invited to the conference,” the diplomat stressed.

œThe point is that two Syrian sides should negotiate and come to agreement and they should know that they are not abandoned, that there are sympathizing and supporting forces on both sides,” he added.

The remarks followed a trilateral meeting between UN envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers Gennady Gatilov and Bogdanov, and US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman in Geneva.

US Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman represented the United Nations at the meeting held to pave the way for the widely anticipated international peace conference on Syria.

After the preparatory talks, Brahimi told reporters that the senior diplomats had failed to set a date for the Geneve-2 talks and that the conference could happen “hopefully in July.”

The next preparatory trilateral meeting will be held in Geneva on June 25 at the same level.

On May 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the necessity of Iran™s presence in the upcoming Geneva talks. œThe issue of Iran is key for us. Iran, without question, is one of the most important nations” he said.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government forces, have been killed in the violence.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

The Syrian government says the West and its regional allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the militants.

MRS/MHB

This article originally appeared on: Press TV