U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Vienna for talks on ending the Syrian war with other key nations, including bitter regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia. “They don’t believe in the principle of the talks”, the coalition’s vice-president, Hisham Marwa, said.
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“Based on invitation for the Islamic Republic of Iran to participate in this summit, the foreign minister will be present in Vienna at the head of a high-ranking political delegation for talks on the situation in Syria”, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham announced on Wednesday.
“Iran was always saying that without it the talks on the Syrian crisis would not succeed”.
According to reports, Russian Federation invited Iran to the diplomatic negotiations in Vienna this week – not the White House. Still, the Obama administration’s willingness to let Iran have a seat at the table represents a major shift in Washington’s approach to Tehran, following the landmark nuclear deal reached earlier this year.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who will take part in the talks, welcomed Iran’s participation.
Fighters from Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are taking part in ground offensives being waged by the Syrian army and its allies with Russian air support, senior regional officials say. & Friday., still it’s unclear if he’ll meet directly with the Iranians on Syria.
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“The ultimate goal that everyone wants to get to … is to come up with a framework for a successful political transition in Syria which leads to a government not led by Bashar al-Assad and that is representative of and responsive to the Syrian people”, Kirby said. “It seems to reward them for their military intervention, for doubling down their support of Bashar al-Assad”.
