Spokeswoman: No Condition Acceptable for Iran’s Presence in Geneva II Conference on Syria

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman MarziyehAfkham said Iran would not accept any prerequisite for participating in the upcoming Geneva II talks on Syria.

Afkham’s remarks came in reaction to US State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf’s earlier statements that Washington might be better disposed to Iran’s taking part in a Geneva II conference if Tehran were to embrace the original Geneva communiqué.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to help resolve the crisis in Syria and if our presence is useful for the attainment of a resolution, setting (pre)conditions for inviting Iran is unacceptable and we do not accept any condition,” the Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Afkham further cautioned that excluding Iran from the political process would mean depriving the negotiations of Tehran’s constructive role.

The United States said on Monday it would be more open to Iran’s taking part in a long-delayed peace conference on Syria if Iran publicly backed a 2012 statement calling for a “transitional government” in Syria.

“We’ve been clear, multiple times, about … our expectation that any party that (is) included in Geneva II must accept and publicly support the Geneva communiqué,” the US state department spokeswoman said yesterday.

“If, and this is an if, Iran were to endorse and embrace the Geneva communiqué publicly, we would view the possibility of their participation more openly,” Harf said, adding, “The United States would then view its taking part more favorably.”

Despite Washington’s stance, Russia, China, Syria, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon, UN Special Envoy in Syria LakhdarBrahimi and an array of other regional and international actors influential on the crisis in Syria settlement issue have all demanded Iran’s partaking in the Geneva II conference. In the latest instance of such demands, UN Undersecretary General Jeffrey D. Feltman last week underscored Iran’s vital role in the settlement of disputes in the region, and called for Tehran’s participation in the International Geneva II Peace Conference on Syria.

“It is hard for me to imagine having a solution in Syria that works if Iran isn’t somehow engaged and involved in this,” Jeffrey Feltman said on Saturday.

M.D