THE SYRIA peace talks are "in disarray" after UN chief Ban Ki-Moon invited Iran, which supports the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, to join preliminary discussions in Switzerland.
Tehran has accepted the invitation and Ban says he has received assurances that Iran would "play a positive role in securing a transitional government", the BBC reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The US is also unhappy with the development. It said Ban should withdraw the invitation unless Iran gives "explicit" support to the conference's aim of setting up a transitional government in Syria, reports Sky News.
None of this bodes well for the talks which are scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Montreaux.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday Ban said he had extended a late invitation to Tehran after "intense talks over two days" with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"Foreign Minister Zarif and I agree that the goal of the negotiations is to establish, by mutual consent, a transitional governing body with full executive powers," Ban said. "He assured me again and again that Iran, if they are invited... will play a very positive and constructive role."
If Iran does attend the preliminary talks there will be 40 countries and a group of regional bodies at the opening meeting, Sky says. The discussions will be "the most intensive diplomatic effort yet to end a war that the UN says has left well over 100,000 dead".
Syrian opposition leaders had earlier vowed to "maintain a tough line" in this week's talks after agreeing, for the first time, to take part. Although they said they would attend the so-called Geneva 2 talks and sit in the same room as Assad's envoys they said they would not shake hands with them, the Financial Times reports.
"We will stay the course, we will never agree on anything that does not fulfil the Syrian people's aspiration for real and genuine change," said Monzer Akbik, chief of staff for Ahmad Jarba, president of the Syrian National Coalition prior to the news about Iran.
-
Political cartoons for November 30Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the Saudi-China relationship, MAGA spelled wrong, and more
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Why these Iraqi elections are so importantThe Explainer The US and Israel are increasingly pressuring Baghdad to tackle Iran-backed militants, while weakened Iran sees Iraq as a vital remaining ally
-
Cop30: is the UN climate summit over before it begins?Today’s Big Question Trump administration will not send any high-level representatives, while most nations failed to submit updated plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
‘Never more precarious’: the UN turns 80The Explainer It’s an unhappy birthday for the United Nations, which enters its ninth decade in crisis
