Germany Backs Inviting Iran to Syria Talks in Geneva

Local Editor

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday he backed Iranian involvement in a conference in Switzerland this month on ending the brutal nearly three-year-old war in Syria.

"My position is that we should try to include the neighbors -- Iran too," he said after talks in Berlin with his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt.
This comes as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon did not include Iran in his invitations to 30 countries to the gathering, due to open on January 22.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has suggested Iran could play a role in the Syria conference from the "sidelines."

Tehran has scoffed at the suggestion, saying it would only accept offers that respect the country's "honor."
Steinmeier is to join a meeting of ministers from the "Friends of Syria" in Paris Sunday with leaders of the mainstream opposition to Assad ahead of the Swiss talks.

Members of Syria's opposition said Wednesday they had postponed until next week a decision on whether to take part in the talks.

Meanwhile, Commander of Iran's Basij Force Brigadier General Mohammad Rida Naqdi blasted the US attempts to marginalize Tehran in efforts to settle the Syrian crisis, and said decisions to be taken in the upcoming Geneva II conference without Iran will be fruitless.

"It [inviting Iran to the upcoming Geneva II conference] was an opportunity that the westerners lost," Naqdi told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday.
"Any decision to be taken without the Islamic Republic of Iran's presence will be futile and fruitless," he added.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team