Masour Says All Countries Should Participate in Geneva II to Guarantee its Success

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stressed on Tuesday that Iran shouldn't be banned from taking part in this week's Syria peace conference as each country could play a role in making the talks succeed.

“Iran shouldn't be barred neither Saudi Arabia. Their presence is of significant importance,” Mansour told reporters at the airport ahead of traveling to Switzerland to attend Geneva II peace talks on Syria.

He pointed out that all countries play a important and delicate role concerning the peace conference as each country could positively contribute in it.

United Nations Chief Ban Ki-moon withdrew the invitation to Iran, the Damascus regime's main regional ally, less than 24 hours after it was issued despite reservations from the United States and Syrian opposition groups.

Iran refuses to consent to a transitional government in Syria, which was agreed in the first international gathering in June 2012 to end the deadly civil war.

Tehran is accused of providing military and financial support to Damascus.

It staunchly backs the government of embattled President Bashar Assad during the conflict that began in 2011 and is estimated to have killed more than 130,000 people.

Iranian participation in the peace talks has long been a thorny issue in preparations for the forum dubbed Geneva II and due to begin on Wednesday in the Swiss town of Montreux.

Russia, a Damascus ally and co-initiator of the talks, has urged that Iran be involved in the process.

Comments 10
Thumb ice-man 21 January 2014, 13:29

Masour Says All Countries Should Participate in Geneva II to Guarantee its Success.

what about Sri Lanka?

Thumb -phoenix1 21 January 2014, 13:51

Pretty much of the time I am in disagreement with Mansour, but today's statement as far as I am concerned makes sense. If the KSA and Iran are involved in Syria's brutal civil war, then they should be both allowed to participate in the Geneva Talks. Nothing can replace dialog and straight talk between parties, specially when it is co-chaired by impartial players. many solutions were found to many of the world's stickiest problems during such meetings, many times in corridors. we are human beings after all, nothing could after all replace dialog, not even guns and bombs.

Missing watan-libnan 21 January 2014, 14:05

Phoenix1 brother who do you think is keeping Assad in power (Iran) and all Iran will do is dodge what must happen in order for this nasty war to stop everybody can stop all their B.S about takfiri terrorists and remember how many syrian generals have escaped syria what about the prime minister of syria who ran off to jordan for gods sake even assads spokeman ran off why do you think they did that because the real terrorist is assad . Get rid of him and his damned regime and peace will reign.

Missing watan-libnan 21 January 2014, 14:11

The biggest curse that occured to lebanon was when the syrians and the palestinians arrived in lebanon before that we had a beautiful country where everybody lived as lebanese .

Thumb -phoenix1 21 January 2014, 14:27

(1). @WL, I do get your drift brother, and to be honest, me too would dearly wish to see the back of Bachar. However we need to be pragmatic, the situation in Syria is such that at least for now, no one could push the other out. here too, good reasons exist, the KSA, Qatar, Turkey and the West side with the Syrian rebels, when on the other side, Iran, Russia, Iraq's government and Hezbollah side with the regime. Ideally speaking, and why I would encourage dialog, it's because primarily to create that vital element called Exit Strategy, I am a firm believer in this principle and for good reasons, mainly because it does alleviate the burden and the deaths on the people.

Missing watan-libnan 21 January 2014, 14:38

Although it has gone on for 3 years now i cannot understand for the life of me why the world stands by and watch this butcher and his regime dropping bombs indiscriminately on their population we mankind really have not progressed at all from the past wars . Who cares what russia or Iran think the rest of the world should take action and create a no fly zone to protect the innocent and then maybe some of this burden of refugees can go back to the safe areas instead of draining lebanon of its resources

Thumb -phoenix1 21 January 2014, 14:37

(2). @WL. Then, it further goes to assure people like Al Assad, that their best route would be to leave power when all sides have agreed on an interim or transitional period where Al Assad eventually hands over power to an interim administration made up of all the warring Syrian sides which would then oversee fresh elections in which all sides would be fairly represented. Only strong and impartial brokers could make this happen, which is why I keep saying that both the KSA and Iran have a crucial role to play. In fact, when the Syrian conflict began about 3 years ago, Mr. Lakhdar Ebrahimi was adamant to create this Exit Strategy for Bachar early on, sadly no one listened then, and the rest we now know. Dictators at the end of the day are humans, they fear reprisals, in my opinion there come times when some compromise must be done, for the best interest of both nation and folks.

Thumb cedre 21 January 2014, 16:55

these talks about who should participate are just another diversion to win/lose time. The all idea of geneva1 is stupid, no agreement possible anyway, Farsis and their lackeys in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq just understand the language of force...

Thumb IndependentThinker 21 January 2014, 19:13

what an idiot and an iranian parrot this guy is.

Missing helicopter 22 January 2014, 05:23

common Mansour, cut to the chase. We all know that only two countries are needed to attend Geneva to assure its success: Iran and HA. Or just Iran as it will represent HA.