UN chief Ban says invites Iran to Syria peace talks

[dipsydoodle]

Last edited Sun Jan 19, 2014, 08:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday he had invited Iran to participate in Syria peace talks on January 22 in Montreux, Switzerland and that Tehran had pledged to play a "positive and constructive role" if it was asked to participate.

More than 100,000 people have been killed and more than two million have fled Syria during the nearly three-year civil war.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/19/uk-un-chief-iran-idUKBREA0I0KO20140119

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has invited Iran to take part in Syrian peace talks this week in Switzerland - an offer Tehran has accepted.

Mr Ban said he had received assurances that Iran would play a positive role in securing a transitional government.

The so-called Geneva II talks, to open in the town of Montreux, are due to start on Wednesday.

Syria's government and the main political opposition group earlier agreed to attend the meeting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25804848

[1000words]

1. Good diplomatic move, imo

I don't think Israel feels the same.

[kelliekat44]

2. Excellent!!! nt

[dipsydoodle]

3. Israel can just deal with it

along with others who didn't want Iran there.

[freshwest]

4. Obama, Putin and the UN pushed Syria and Iran last year to ratify the CWC.

Thankful for the work by Obama, Kerry, Putin and all other parties involved. Iran had to save face as did Syria for going along with the 'west' or the UN.

This is the road to peace we wanted, also a protection for future generations from these weapons. The CWC covers not just chemical weapons, but all WMD. As of October 2013, only 6 member states in the UN have not ratified. Those still not signed onto the convention are Israel, North Korea, Egypt, Angola, Burma and South Sudan.

With their 'enemies' now part of the CWC, this gives them little justification for maintaining their arsenals. We'll see that the next move for peace will be.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Syria crisis: Iran invite threatens Geneva peace talks

A UN invitation to Iran to take part in preliminary Syrian peace talks in Switzerland has drawn criticism, with the Syrian opposition saying it might suspend its participation.

The US and the UK say the offer must be conditional on Iran's support for the 2012 deal on Syria's transition.
...
But Syria's main opposition group said it would withdraw from the talks unless Mr Ban retracted the offer to Iran.

The group, the National Coalition, had only agreed to attend the talks two days ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25809667

[dipsydoodle]

6. I cannot see Ban withdrawing the offer

which Iran has already accepted.

It was inevitable the US would react in this way and the UK is probably just staying in line with the US - Ban may have anticipated that in making the offer to Iran.

[karynnj]

7. I agree, but suspect that the US may have pressured the opposition more in private

than publicly shows. In reality, they need support more than we need to support any one faction of the opposition. Given they are losing, they have more to gain from showing up than by refusing.

Last week, Kerry was open to Iran being there -- but that was walked back by the administration. Given the Iran has armed Hezbollah and is involved, I think it would be better to include them - even opening up the possibility of dealing with Iran/Hezbollah/Lebanon. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/kerry-suggests-iran-could-play-sideline-role-in-syrian-peace-talks/2014/01/05/b1d82f92-7621-11e3-a647-a19deaf575b3_story.html

Given that Ban HAS made the offer, I wonder if the US will accept some role for Iran. Could some of the US/UK opposition be posturing? The NYT article ( http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0 ) quotes many positions by the various sides that seem to stating stronger positions than before -- maybe trying to influence where the negotiating space is?

I remember similar dynamics before the CW negotiations (simpler as it was mainly Kerry and Lavrov) and the Iran negotiations. Syria is a far worse situation with hundreds of thousands of lives already lost, but it may be that - as there is no end in sight - all Syrians have some vested interest in a negotiated settlement.

[Eugene]

8. Ban Ki-moon withdraws Iran's invite to Syria talks

Source: Reuters

Ban Ki-moon withdraws Iran's invite to Syria talks

UNITED NATIONS Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:19pm EST

(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday withdrew an offer for Iran to attend Syria peace negotiations after Tehran declared it does not support the June 2012 political transition deal that is the basis for the talks.

"He (Ban) continues to urge Iran to join the global consensus behind the Geneva communiqué," Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, (Ban) has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran's participation."

Ban said earlier that Iran's public statement that it did not support the 2012 Geneva deal calling for a transitional government for Syria was "not consistent" with assurances he had been given by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/20/us-syria-crisis-iran-idUSBREA0J1F720140120