Russian FM calls UN decision to drop Iran's Geneva-II invitation a mistake

The UN's decision to withdraw its invitation for Iran to attend the Geneva-II meeting was a mistake, but not a catastrophe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. "The interests of the cause essentially require the representation of Iran, like all the other countries of the region," Lavrov said during his annual press conference. According to him, the situation that occurred when the international peace conference on Syria was organized did not add authority to the UN. Meanwhile, Lavrov said Russia was trying its best to "promote political settlement" of the Syrian crisis. "We are satisfied with the fact that reasonable approaches based on the logic of peace and basic principles of international law prevailed," he said, adding that Russia was against unilateral actions, including attempts to use force bypassing the UN Charter.