Syria opposition agrees to attend Geneva talks after UN withdraws invite to Iran

Zee Media Bureau United Nations: The Syrian opposition on Tuesday welcomed the United Nation`s decision to withdraw the invitation to Iran, and said that it will attend the Geneva talks now. Confirming its attendance at Geneva on Jan 22 for the much awaited talks, the Syrian National Coalition released a statement welcoming "the decision of the United Nations Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon to withdraw the invitation sent to Iran, given that Iran has not met the conditions of participation in Geneva 2 conference". A day after the invitation to Iran to join the much-awaited Syria peace conference botched up the chances of a successful talks, the United Nations on Monday stated that the conference would go ahead without Iran.

“Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, he (Ban Ki-moon) has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran’s participation...” said a UN statement.

#UNSG says #Iran to not attend #SyriaUNConf, urges it to join global consensus behind Geneva Communique http://t.co/V0yD79PWFP

— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) January 20, 2014

Saying that the UN chief Ban Ki-moon was “deeply disappointed” by Iranian stance of not accepting the Geneva communiqué on Syria adopted in June 2012, the UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky, said that Iran was no longer welcome at the talks that will be held on Jan 22 in Swiss city of Montreux. “The Secretary-General is deeply disappointed by Iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment...,” the UN statement read. However, despite dis-invitation, the UN chief still wanted to urge the Islamic Republic to join global consensus behind Geneva communiqué. The UN move came after Iran on Monday made it clear that its attendance in the conference should not be subject to any preconditions. Iran`s UN envoy Mohammad Khazaee said that the Islamic Republic would not accept Geneva communiqué of 2012 that includes setting up of a transitional governing body in Syria. "If the participation of Iran is conditioned to accept Geneva I communique, Iran will not participate in Geneva II," Khazaee said in a statement. Earlier, the UN had delivered a surprise late Sunday night when it said that Iran had been invited to the peace conference. However, the move irked Syrian opposition which threatened to not attend the talks, if Iran didn`t accept the 2012 Geneva communique, putting in question the possibility of talks. The US too urged the UN to cancel the invitation to Iran if it refused to endorse the terms of government formation in Syria as laid out in the communiqué. The talks that are scheduled to begin Wednesday, will see Syrian government negotiate with its opponents in presence of US, Russia and forty other nations. The United Nations has urged all other parties to attend the talks to help Syria achieve a peaceful solution. “The Syrian parties, the region and the international community have an opportunity and a responsibility to end the violence and begin a transition towards a new Syria.”