They spoke over the phone on October 24 and 26 preceded by a meeting between the foreign ministers of Russian Federation, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Vienna on October 23 which focused on the settlement of the Syria crisis.
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“Everything will depend on whether it is possible to move beyond certain ambitions, personal preferences and dislikes, to ensure the representative nature of the talks with Iran, Egypt and Syria’s Arab neighbors”, Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying at a press conference.
“We have reviewed the invitation, and it was decided that the foreign minister would attend the talks”, Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said.
The talks are an expansion of discussions held last week in Vienna between the United States, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia that did not reach any substantive conclusion.
USA state department spokesman John Kirby said it was unclear if Iran’s leaders would attend the talks, starting in Vienna on Thursday.
“Presently, we continue contacts with our Egyptian colleagues in order to unify these efforts and approach the opposition forces about suggestion of how we could help them form a united delegation for talks with the government”, he said.
Iran is believed to have spent billions of dollars over the past four years propping up President Assad’s government, providing military advisers and subsidising weapons.
It is also thought to have been influential in the decision of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement to send fighters to Syria to assist pro-Assad forces.
Both Iran and Russian Federation – another ally of President Assad – have recently stepped up their military role in the Syrian conflict.
On the military front, the Pentagon said it may launch more air strikes and even direct ground attacks by special forces against armed fighters seeking to carve out an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Russia, Syria, Iran and Iraq have established the Baghdad Information Center in the Iraqi capital to coordinate intelligence and security cooperation against the Islamic State. The United States has said it could tolerate Assad during a short transition period, but that he would then have to exit the political stage. Syrian army has been fighting several opposition factions and numerous militant groups, including ISIL.
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More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria’s brutal conflict since it began in March 2011 following a bloody crackdown on protests against Assad’s rule. A few 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled overseas – including growing numbers who are making the risky journey to Europe.
