A top Syrian official has described Iran as a key player in the Middle East, stating that the United Nations made a mistake by withdrawing its Geneva II invitation to the Islamic Republic.We all know that the presence or absence of Iran in such conferences will not affect its role as a leading regional player, Director of the International Organizations Department at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Hesamuddin Ala said on Saturday.
Certain mistakes were made while making preparations for the conference, including the limitation of the invitations, he said, adding that invitations were extended to certain countries that openly support anti-Syria positions.
The senior Syrian official went on to say that negotiations over Syrias future require the participation of a wide range of parties, including the opposition inside Syria, while the UN limited the invitations to only the foreign-based Syrian opposition groups.
On January 19, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tehran had been invited to the Geneva II conference but later retracted the invitation under pressure from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition.
Iran had repeatedly stated that it would not accept any precondition for attending the Geneva II talks. Iran has also said that it would like to help find a political solution to the crisis in Syria, but it had never asked to partake in the talks.
The Geneva II conference, which was aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis, ended in Switzerland on January 31 with no concrete results.
Syria has been gripped by deadly crisis since 2011.
By Press TV
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