Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for the participation of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria, which seeks to find a solution to the ongoing crisis in the Arab country.
Given their political status in the region, Iran and Saudi Arabia should be present in the Geneva conference, al-Maliki told Interfax News Agency on Tuesday.

On May 7, Russia and the United States agreed in Moscow to convene a conference on Syria, which is planned to serve as a follow-up to an earlier Geneva meeting held in June 2012.

The Iraqi prime minister, who has recently traveled to Russia to attend the 2nd Summit of the 13-nation Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), voiced his country’s support for the joint Russia-US initiative.

“We support the proposed conference, of course, and we think it must be organized as seriously as possible,” he said, adding that, “Iraq will definitely participate” in the event.

Maliki further warned against the spillover of the crisis in Syria into the entire region if the international community does not seriously deal with the issue.

He urged all nations, particularly the influential countries in the region, to work together closely to help resolve the issue in a peaceful manner, through dialog and without any foreign intervention.

The unrest in Syria erupted over two years ago and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants fighting in Syria are foreign nationals.

Iran has repeatedly expressed its opposition to any foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs, stressing that dialog, national reconciliation and free elections are the keys to resolving the unrest.

By Press TV

 

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