Russia underscores Iran's vital role in settlement of Syrian crisis

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov described Iran as an influential country with a good background in settling regional crises, and called for Iran's participation in the International Geneva II Peace Conference on Syria. “We believe that Tehran is an important regional player and can play a positive role in resolving the Syrian crisis. Our view is shared by UN/Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi,” Gatilov said on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov stressed, “We believe that the forum should definitely include those regional players that can play an influential role in resolving the crisis in Syria". Bogdanov added that the Russian and American sides are working hard in cooperation with Brahimi to prepare for the international event. Iran has said that it is ready to take part in the planned Geneva II conference on the Syrian crisis “if invited without any preconditions”. “If invited without any preconditions, Iran will participate in the Geneva II conference in order to help resolve the Syrian crisis,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a meeting with Brahimi in New York in late September. Brahimi and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have also supported Iran’s participation in the international conference. On May 7, Russia and the US agreed in the Russian capital of Moscow to hold an international conference on Syria, which will serve as a follow-up to an earlier Geneva meeting held in June 2012. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Tens of hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. Tel Aviv, Washington, Ankara and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad, who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.