Ban Ki-moon sends out invitations to Geneva II

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to send out invitations to the participants in the Geneva II Conference on Syria today, but Iran will not be invited, a UN official said. The invitations to some 35 participants, including Kuwait, will go out today, but Iran is not among them, the official said, reported the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA. He added that the Secretary General is in favour of Iran’s participation in the Conference that will take place in Switzerland on January 22nd, but the organizers – US and Russia – did not reach agreement on Iran’s participation, that is why it is left out. He speculated that Iran’s invitation will be further discussed when US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meet on January 13th. The US insists that Iran accept the Geneva I Communique which states that the Syrian parties – Government and opposition – agree to a transitional governing body with full executive powers. Iran has so far refused to do so.