Brahimi discusses Syria with Zarif over telephone

Young journalists club

News ID: 3018
Asia » Asia
Publish Date: 9:17 - 21 December 2013
Tehran, YJC. UN Special Envoy to Syria has discussed concerns with Iran’s Foreign Minister.

The UN Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi discussed the latest developments on the Syrian crisis with Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif over the telephone on Friday.

Zarif in turn stressed the need for political approaches and Syrian-Syrian negotiations in resolving the crisis, Mehr News Agency reports.

In the other news U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says 26 nations have been invited to attend a Syria peace conference next month, but that the U.S. has blocked Iran's participation.

Brahimi says the U.S. remains unconvinced that Iran's attendance "would be the right thing to do."

Iran has backed Syria's government in the country's nearly three-year-old conflict.

Brahimi spoke after meeting Friday with U.S. and Russian delegations to determine which nations should be invited to the Syrian peace conference scheduled to open on January 22 in the Swiss city of Montreux.

The conference has been delayed for months due to questions about who should represent the Syrian opposition and government, and which regional powers should be at the table.

The goal of the talks is for the government and opposition to agree on a settlement that includes a transitional authority with full executive powers.

After Friday's meeting, Brahimi also urged Syria's government to halt bomb attacks on civilians and for the Syrian opposition to release all prisoners, including children.  

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