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Syria meeting in Tehran paves the way for ending the Levantine crisis
by Joseph Earnest August 9, 2012
Newscast Media TEHRAN, Iran—A consultative meeting in Tehran that was attended by about 30 countries, aimed at bringing the Syrian crisis to an end, through dialogue between the opposing parties. The meeting was hosted by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, and the focus was on states that are not directly complicit in the Syrian crisis.
Iranian state media said the foreign ministers of Iraq, Pakistan and Zimbabwe were present. Salehi listed those nations as: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Benin, Belarus, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Oman, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. A representative of the United Nations was also present. Kuwait and Lebanon had said before the meeting they would not send representatives.
According to Al Akhbar News, Iran had obtained undertakings from "a fair number" of Syrian opposition groups "to support such talks", as well as the endorsement of President Bashar al-Assad, who conferred in Damascus earlier this week with the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, Saeed Jalili.
The revelation that the opposing groups were in support of the meeting makes sense, since their leader of the Free Syrian Army, Abdul Jabbar al-Oqeidi, was killed 48 hours ago, according to reports on the ground by Press TV. (pop-up)
"We want this conference to be a counter to the Enemies of Syria (Friends of Syria) group, which has been promoting militarization, violence and sectarianism," they said. "The hope is to persuade the maximum number of states to encourage and take part in an intra-Syrian solution."
In addition, the Iran's Foreign Ministry is also embarking on diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Iranian captives who were abducted on their way to the Damascus airport on August 4, 2012. Add Comments>>
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