Iran Mulling over Participation in Friday Syria Talks: Afkham
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham on Wednesday confirmed the country has received an invitation to attend the upcoming Syria talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna, but said Tehran has yet to decide on whether it will take part in the negotiations.
Iran has been invited to attend the Friday Syria talks in Vienna, Afkham said, adding that Iran’s participation in this meeting is under study.
Earlier Tuesday, the US State Department announced that Iran will be invited to participate in talks in Vienna on Friday to discuss ending the conflict in Syria.
"Iran will be asked to participate. Now, whether they come or not, that's up to Iranian leaders," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Kirby said about a dozen participants were expected in Vienna for the next round of discussions on Syria.
"There will be bilateral and multilateral discussions in Vienna on Friday and participation is very much still being worked (on)," Kirby said.
Diplomatic talks have been intensified in recent weeks to end the ongoing crisis in Syria, with several countries including Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the US involved in the new rounds of talks.
Washington and its regional allies have long insisted President Assad has to go for there to be any chance of a political solution to the fighting, but Moscow says it must first help him defeat ISIL and other terrorists before talks can start on any reforms.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011. Syrian army has been fighting several foreign-backed terrorist groups, including ISIL.
The conflict is estimated to have claimed more than 240,000 lives so far.
Also, more than 7.2 million Syrians have been internally displaced and more than four million others have been forced to flee to neighboring countries.