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Middle East and North Africa

Iranian foreign minister pledges to contribute to Syrian settlement

UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION, February 01, 19:32 /ITAR-TASS/. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that Tehran will contribute to the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Syria.

Zarif and Ban Ki-moon met on the sidelines of the 50th Munich Security Conference, the U.N. Secretary-General Office reported on Saturday.

“They discussed the situation in Syria, particularly the Geneva II Peace Conference, and Iran’s nuclear programme. The Secretary-General lauded Iran saying it played its role in searching for the political resolution of the Syrian crisis,” the report says.

Iran was named one of the participants in the ministerial session on Syria that had taken place in Montreux on January 22. However, two days before the conference the U.N. said it recalled the invitation to Iran. It explained it by the fact that Iran did not share ‘common understanding’ of the principles of Syria’s settlement in accordance with the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012. It envisions the formation of a transition government in Syria.

Then Iranian permanent representative to the U.N. Muhammad Hazai said without Iran the participants in the conference “lost important support”.

He doubted that the Geneva II process helped settle the conflict and solve the problem of terrorism in Syria.

The day after the conference in Montreux the U.N. sources said Ban Ki-moon hopes on constructive and positive roe of Iran in the Syrian settlement.

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Middle East and North Africa

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