Iran must take part in Geneva-2 talks – Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes that Iran must take part in the initial stage of the Geneva-2 international peace conference for Syria, the Voice of Russia correspondent Kira Kalinina reports.

“External actors must be fully represented. Whoever has an influence on any Syrian group is ought to sit at the negotiating table during the initial stage of the conference,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

Commenting on the opinion of “National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces leader Ahmad Jarba” who said Iran must not be invited to Geneva II, Mr. Lavrov said that “as the Russian-US duo devised, the Syrians will be negotiating directly, with the mediation of Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and his team, at the later stages.”

New Zealand’s McCully thanks Lavrov for promoting Syria peace

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully has underscored Russia’s positive role in the Syrian peace process at the Tuesday meeting with his Russian opposite number, Sergei Lavrov.

McCully thanked Russian diplomats for their constructive effort in settling the ongoing Syrian conflict and unrelenting push for the long-overdue Geneva-2 conference.

He said the fortunes of Syria reaching a peace deal were improving, in particular through the efforts of Sergei Lavrov. 

M.D