Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says there seems to be no agreement on two major issues ahead of UN-brokered negotiations on theSyriaconflict in New York.
Tehran has seen no lists we can agree upon ofSyrian opposition groups that should be included in peace negotiations planned for January 1, 2016, he told the Associated Press.
Card-carrying members of al-Qaeda do not satisfy the conditions that we set for members of the opposition, he said.
The (Syrian) opposition should be serious, and it should be inclusive, the Iranian foreign minister added.
Zarif further said he didn'tknow whether Friday talks in New York on Syria's future would produce any tangible outcome. We still dont know, he said.
Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US, as well as delegates from international organizations willsit at the negotiating table in New York to work out a solution.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Russias FM Sergei Lavrov (center-R), US Secretary of State John Kerry (center) and foreign ministers from other countries attend a conference on the Syrian conflict in Vienna, November 14, 2015. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]
On Wednesday, Zarifmade it clear that any preconditionsset by certain foreign parties aboutSyria's political future wouldmerely prolongthe bloodshed in the Arab country.
Upon arrival in New York, the Iranian minister said it was up tothe Syrian peopleto decide their own fate without the meddling of outside parties.
Zarif said Iran haddecided to participate in the negotiations "to make sure the terrorist groups that have the blood of Syrians on their hands will gain no role in the Arab countys future."
Iran, he said,seeks a ceasefire and settlement of differences through dialog and the formation of a national unity government in the Arab country.