January 21, 2014
UNITED NATIONS: The UN secretary general withdrew his invitation to Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks, saying he is "deeply disappointed" by Iran's statements on Monday.
January 21, 2014
UNITED NATIONS: The UN secretary general withdrew his invitation to Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks, saying he is "deeply disappointed" by Iran's statements on Monday.
The UN on Monday canceled an invitation to Iran to attend a Syria peace conference this week over its refusal to back calls for a transitional government in Syria, a spokesman said.
A spokesman for Ban Ki-moon announced the withdrawal less than 24 hours after Ban surprised the US and others by saying he had invited Syria's closest regional ally.
The invitation was withdrawn shortly after Iran's UN ambassador declared the Islamic Republic wouldn't join the Syria talks if required to accept the roadmap sketched during a 2012 Geneva conference on Syria.
A spokesman for Ban, Martin Nesirky, said senior Iranian officials had assured Ban that Iran understood the terms of his invitation.
"The secretary general is deeply disappointed by Iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment," Nesirky said.
"He continues to urge Iran to join the global consensus behind the Geneva Communique."
The talks are set to begin on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux, with delegations from the United States, Russia and close to 40 other countries attending.
But Ban's announcement on Sunday night that Iran was invited to Montreux angered Syria's main Western-backed opposition group, which over the weekend had announced it would join the talks after intense international pressure.
The opposition set a Monday afternoon deadline, saying Iran had to commit publicly by 1900 GMT Monday to the terms set in the 2012 Geneva talks — the formation of a transitional government for Syria that would pave the way for democratic elections — or the UN should withdraw the invitation.
Senior US officials also said Ban's invitation had to be withdrawn unless Iran fully and publicly endorsed those terms.
Invitations to the Montreux meeting had been subject to approval by the initiating states, Russia and the United States, but the two countries had been at an impasse over Iran.
Amid the anger, Ban said Monday morning that he was "urgently considering his options" in light of the "disappointing conduct of some participants" in the peace talks.
"Throughout the Syrian conflict, the secretary general has sought to do everything within his power for a political solution, which is the only path forward," the UN statement on Monday afternoon said.
Courtesy: AP
