US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet on January 13 in a bid to decide on whether Iran should take part, said UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.

"US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet on January 13 and we very much hope they will reach agreement on Iran's participation," he added.

It was not known if UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi would be at the January 13 meeting.

Russia has pressed for Iran's participation in the bid to end the 34-month-old conflict.

Ban has also spoken out in favor of Iranian involvement and stressed Iran’s great role in promoting the fruitful results of Geneva II conference.

The January 22 meeting is to help implement a June 2012 Geneva declaration by the major powers, including Russia and the United States, that a transitional government be established in Syria.

Tehran has said it would attend Geneva 2 without any preconditions if invited.

The Russian ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, recently said Iran’s participation in the upcoming peace conference aimed at ending the crisis in Syria will be in everyone’s interest.

In a Thursday interview with Lebanese Al-Manar satellite television, Zasypkin said logic necessitated Tehran’s presence in the conference, Press TV reported on Thursday.

NJF/NJF