Tehran: Iran on Thursday hosted a conference on Syria in a bid to take over the role of brokering peace in its beleaguered Arab ally, replacing Kofi Annan who last week resigned as the UN-Arab envoy in the crisis. But participation in the meeting was looking thin, with no government confirming its foreign minister would be taking part.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said his country was attempting to revive parts of Annan’s plan, notably: implementing a ceasefire, sending humanitarian aid, and laying groundwork for national dialogue in Syria. “I hereby announce Iran’s readiness to host a meeting of countries committed to immediately implementing these steps in hopes of ending the violence,” Salehi wrote in a Washington Post op-ed ahead of the gathering. But while Salehi was quoted on Wednesday in official Iranian media as saying “12 to 13 countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America” would take part in the “consultative” meeting, he did not identify them.
The conference, due to start at around 7:00 pm (2000 IST), is meant to gather foreign ministers, according to the Iranian foreign ministry’s announcement of the meet on Monday. Only those governments with a “realistic position” on Syria were invited, it said, implying countries which shared Tehran’s position.
“Military means alone won’t end the crisis, and a political agenda that is neither inclusive nor comprehensive will also fail,” Salehi wrote in the Post. “Iran seeks a solution that is in the interest of everyone.” It would be an “illusion” to think that an orderly power transition could happen “should President Bashar al-Assad abruptly fall,” he added. But several foreign ministers invited to the conference sent their regrets. Kuwait has officially told Iran it would not be attending, foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah told Al-Seyassah newspaper.
A Lebanese diplomatic official told AFP on Tuesday that his country would not be represented because of its policy of “restraint” in the Syrian conflict. Iran’s official IRNA news agency said Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci would not travel “due to a very busy workload.” His deputy foreign minister would go instead. And Russian reports relayed in Iran suggested Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would also not make it. But they said Russia’s ambassador to Tehran would sit in. Iran’s stance on Syria hews to that of Russia, which along with China has blocked three attempts in the UN Security Council to sanction Assad’s regime over its big-calibre crackdown on the rebels. (AFP)