Aside from inviting Iran to attend the talks in Vienna, the U.S. has also said it could live with a political transition in Syria that would leave Mr Assad temporarily in power, potentially removing an obstacle to building global consensus.
Advertisement
Iran has sent expeditionary Revolutionary Guards units to Syria to help Assad.
Tehran officially denies it has combat troops in Syria.
Zarif and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone on October 28 to discuss the conflict in Syria and plans for the upcoming global talks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and three of his deputies will attend the multilateral talks, Iranian media outlets reported.
The White House said the peace talks could only work if “all key stakeholders” were invited, adding that Iran’s participation should not overshadow the efforts to end the Syrian crisis. Earlier in the day, she said Tehran was considering whether to join the gathering in Vienna.
The hard part of getting Iran to the table, Badran noted, has been dragging in the naysayers like Saudi Arabia – which has a fierce regional rivalry with Iran dating back to 1979 – and Turkey, which has always been one of the Assad regime’s staunchest opponents.
The invitation after the United States declared itself ready to engage long-time foe Iran if it might help halt Syria’s civil war.
Foreign ministers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Egypt, Lebanon and the European Union have also confirmed they will attend the meeting, and other Middle Eastern powers are also expected.
Who’s not there? Assad’s government and the Syrian opposition.
“The global community should not accept that the problem be the solution”, said Bebars al-Talawy, a Homs-based activist who reports on the fighting in his hometown in central Syria.
Iran said on Friday it was considering whether to attend. Then the United States, in effect, blocked Iranian attendance.
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. “The likely results will be to further radicalize the population, prolong the fighting, and perhaps strengthen the illusion on Assad’s part that he can maintain indefinitely his hold on power”.
The latest attempt to stifle a Syrian civil war – in which 250,000 people have been killed and millions rendered homeless – follows other attempts in Geneva that came to nothing.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly said in recent months there could be no bilateral talks with the United States on regional issues.
“Iran has consistently argued that Syria’s future is a choice between Assad and the jihadists”. It also shows the seismic shift brought about by Russia’s direct military involvement in Syria since launching a campaign of airstrikes on behalf of Assad last month. The Obama administration, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and others say most of the bombs are landing on moderate rebel militias, a few backed by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Advertisement
“While finding a way forward on Syria will not be easy – it’s not going to be automatic – it is the most promising opportunity for a political opening we have seen”, Kerry said just before he was to set off for Vienna.
