US and UN scramble to salvage Syrian peace talks

Syrian opposition threatens to stay away unless Ban Ki-moon's invitation to Tehran to attend Geneva 2 talks is rescinded.

A place was set for Iran at the venue for the Syria peace talks in Montreux, Switzerland, yesterday, but objections to the country's participation threaten to derail the conference. Philippe Desmazes / AFPShow less

ISTANBUL // The United States and United Nations were scrambling on Monday to rescue the much-heralded Syrian peace talks which were thrown into disarray by a surprise UN invite to Iran.

The deeply divided Syrian opposition, which had struggled to agree to join the so-called Geneva II conference, is now threatening a boycott unless the invitation to Tehran is withdrawn.

Adding to the tensions, Syrian president Bashar Al Assad bluntly ruled out a power-sharing deal and said in aninterview that the talks opening on Wednesday should focus on what he called his “war against terrorism”.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon, who sparked the furore with his invitation to Tehran on Sunday, said “intensive and urgent” talks were under way with the US to try to salvage the situation.

But a senior US state department official insisted: “We expect the invitation will be rescinded.”

The Geneva 2 conference has been nine months in the making and is the most intensive diplomatic effort yet to end the brutal three-year conflict in Syria.

And a US official said Washington had received messages from members of the Damascus regime keen to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

But the opposition Syrian National Coalition, holding crisis talks in Istanbul, threw down an ultimatum, saying unless it received confirmation that Iran was not invited to Switzerland, “we will not attend”.

Washington, London and Paris have said Tehran would have to clearly and publicly support the idea of a transitional government if it was to join the talks.

Iran, an ally of Mr Al Assad’s regime, remained defiant, with a foreign ministry spokeswoman saying it will participate “without any preconditions”.

Western powers have opposed Iran’s presence on the grounds that it had not accepted a communique adopted by major powers in Geneva in June 2012 calling for the creation of an interim government.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which supports the Syrian rebels, also said Iran was “unqualified to attend”.

The conference is aimed at setting up a transitional government to find a way out of the civil war that has claimed 130,000 lives and created a humanitarian disaster, with million of people homeless.

But the situation on the ground has become increasingly complicated, with various militant groups fighting both against the Assad regime and against more mainstream Islamist factions.

The so-called Geneva I accord in 2012 made no mention of Mr Al Assad’s departure, something the Syrian opposition says is non-negotiable.

But Russia, a key sponsor of the talks but also Damascus’s main ally, said Tehran’s absence would be a “unforgivable mistake”.

Mr Ban said after two days of talks with the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, that Tehran vowed to play a “very positive and constructive role” and had agreed that the goal of the talks was a transitional governing body with full executive powers.

“I believe strongly that Iran needs to be part of the solution to the Syrian crisis,” he said.

But his assurances failed to pacify western powers concerned over Iran’s deployment of military personnel in Syria and its support for Lebanon’s Hizbollah movement, which has sent fighters to back Mr Al Assad’s troops.

The opposition Coalition, which had voted on Saturday to go to Geneva, said it wanted a clear public commitment from Iran to withdraw all troops and militias and to commit to the terms of Geneva 1 and 2.

“In case of failure to obtain the pledge, we ask (Ban) to rescind/withdraw its invitation to Iran. Otherwise, the Syrian Coalition will not be able to attend the Geneva 2 conference.”

A western diplomat described the invitation to Iran as a “catastrophic” decision.

In Washington, a US official said he hoped the Swiss talks would provide “an impetus” out of the bloodshed.

“There are elements inside the regime itself, among its supporters, that are anxious to find a peaceful solution, and we’ve gotten plenty of messages from people inside, they want a way out,” the state department official said.

On Friday, Damascus had offered a number of concessions including a ceasefire plan for Aleppo, a prisoner exchange and steps to improve humanitarian aid.

The moves, announced in Moscow, were seen as another potential diplomatic coup for Russia after it succeeded last year in persuading Damascus to give up its chemical weapons arsenal and avert imminent US strikes.

Both France and Britain said Iran’s participation was conditional on clearly accepting the establishment of a transitional government.

And the EU said it hoped Geneva 2 would be a “first step” to genuine political transition.

But Mr Al Assad adopted a combative tone, dismissing the opposition as having been “created” by foreign backers and saying he saw no reason not to seek another term in June’s presidential election.

The embattled leader warned of “chaos throughout the Middle East” if his government lost the war.

And he mocked the opposition leaders, saying the notion they could participate in government was “a good joke”.

* Agence France-Presse