Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov[/caption]Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has underlined the necessity of Iran's participation in the long-awaited Geneva II peace conference on Syria.
We remain convinced that Iran's participation would be necessary and useful. Iran is a major regional power, involved in the developments surrounding Syria, Interfax quoted the Russian official as saying.
It would be difficult for the conference to make decisions without Iran that would subsequently be fulfilled by all, he added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that the long-awaited talks would be held on January 22.
Additional negotiations are to be held with the external players who will attend, Gatilov said.
UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi has said that the conference would start without any preconditions.
Syrias foreign-backed opposition has announced that it will only attend the talks after the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian government has agreed to take part in the talks, but has rejected any preconditions or any insistence on Assads departure.
The commander of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA), General Salim Idriss, said Tuesday that it will not participate in the upcoming Geneva conference.
Conditions are not suitable for running the Geneva 2 talks at the given date, and we, as a military and revolutionary force, will not participate in the conference, Idriss said.
The Geneva II conference, which will be a follow-up to an earlier one held in June 2012, was proposed by Moscow and Washington on May 7, but its date was delayed several times.
Syria has been gripped by a deadly crisis since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
By Press TV
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