Top Advisor: “Opposition” Split Main Obstacle to Geneva II Conference

TEHRAN – The severe and widening differences among “opposition forces” in Syria is preventing declaration of truce for the start of peace talks in the Geneva II conference, a senior Iranian parliamentary advisor said,according to FNA.

“At present, the possibility of holding the Geneva II conference is more than any other time, but the main problem is that for any negotiations to be constructive, a ceasefire should be staged, otherwise, no negotiations can be held,” senior Advisor to the Iranian Parliament Speaker HosseinSheikholeslam told FNA on Wednesday.

“And the problem is that the “opposition ” recognizes no one as its leader to declare truce and they are not in coordination with each other as there are terrorists among them who enjoy killing people,” he added.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underlined that Tehran is in favor of negotiations between the Syrian government and “opposition groups”  to create stability in the Middle Eastern country.

Last November, Iran hosted a meeting between the representatives of the Syrian government and “opposition” to encourage them to start talks to find a political solution to their problems. The National Dialogue Conference kicked off work in Tehran mid-November with the motto of ‘No to Violence, Yes to Democracy”.

While in New York last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani once again underlined that Tehran is ready to take part in the planned Geneva II conference on the crisis in Syria “without any preconditions”.

“If invited without any preconditions, Iran will participate in the Geneva II conference in order to help resolve the crisis in Syria,” President Rouhani said in a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria LakhdarBrahimi in New York.

During the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 68th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Iranian president urged an immediate settlement to the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Brahimi, for his part, briefed the Iranian president on the latest developments in Syria and said he would like to see Tehran attend the upcoming Geneva II conference.

M.D