On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov described as successful the first UN-backed peace conference on Syria, which was held in the Swiss city of Geneva in June 2012, stressing that no concrete step concerning the resolution of the Syrian crisis could be taken in the upcoming Geneva II conference if Iran is not invited to the event, IRNA reported.
He added that certain Western countries oppose Tehran’s participation in the Syria peace conference, and are trying to impose their position on others.
On Monday, Chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee for International Affairs, Alexei Pushkov, stated that the long-awaited international conference aimed at achieving a political solution to the crisis in Syria will be incomplete without Iran.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said on Monday that Iran should be invited to the peace conference on Syria.
On November 25, the UN set January 22, 2014, as the date for the talks.
The conference is scheduled to be held in Switzerland in two parts. On January 22, the opening session of the event will be in the Swiss city of Montreux and then it will be moved to the UN office in Geneva on January 24.
Syria has been gripped by a deadly crisis since 2011. Reports indicate that the Western powers and their regional allies - especially Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey - are supporting the militants operating inside the country.
More than 120,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.
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