UN rescinds invitation to Iran to attend talks

[Origanalist]

GENEVA (AP) — A last-minute U.N. invitation for Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks threw the long-awaited Geneva conference into doubt Monday, forcing U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to rescind his offer under intense U.S. pressure after the opposition threatened to boycott.

With the invitation withdrawn, the main Western-backed opposition group said it would attend the talks aimed at ending Syria's ruinous three-year civil war. The opposition said the conference should seek to establish a transitional government with full executive powers "in which killers and criminals do not participate."

The surprise invitation, extended Sunday by the U.N. secretary-general, set off a flurry of diplomatic activity to salvage the talks. The U.S. said the offer should be rescinded, and the opposition threatened to skip the event entirely.

The conference is set to begin Wednesday in the Swiss luxury resort city of Montreux, with high-ranking delegations from the United States, Russia and close to 40 other countries attending. Face-to-face negotiations between the Syrian government and its opponents — the first of the uprising — are to start Friday in Geneva.

The uproar over Iran's invitation put the entire event at risk of being scuttled.

The Syrian National Coalition, which had voted late Saturday to attend after months of rancorous debate, issued an ultimatum, saying that Iran must commit publicly within hours to withdraw its "troops and militias" from Syria and abide by a 2012 roadmap to establish a transitional government. Otherwise, the group said, the U.N. should withdraw its invitation for Tehran to take part.

continued....http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2014/01/20/syria-talks-set-to-open-amid-low-expectations-n1781441

[ClydeCoulter]

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter using their names.

Is this the code word for "managed leak"?

Damn, Ed, you shouldn't have used your name. /sarc

[ClydeCoulter]

A bit of history from the previous meeting in 2012:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-07/02/c_131688175.htm


"I think that Annan's communique was balanced as it pointed out that not only the Syrian government or the Syrian army have blood on their hands but also the other parties, the armed groups, which are killing people and booby-trapping vehicles," Ossi said.

He contended that the Syrian government had fully abided by Annan's plan, "but what about the other parties? Have they honored their end of the deal?" Ossi questioned.

He said the Syrian regime pulled back troops, released detainees, adding that the ball now is with the other party.

Annan along with the action group should have worked more to practice pressures on the countries that support terrorism, he said, repeating the Syrian government's account that some Arab countries as well as western ones are rendering all kind of support to the armed opposition fighters on ground.



Yep, get them to agree to pull back, but no pulling back by western powers supporting the opposition nor holding the opposition to account. Learn from Gadhafi. There is no honor among these thieves.
It's a trap.


However, "if they meant a transitional phase without the participation of President Assad, this would be impossible," the Kurdish parliamentarian said, adding that Assad have come to power by elections and the upcoming elections will take place in 2014.

So, how many factions within Syria will be represented in this 2014 Geneva Talks?

[ClydeCoulter]

Oh, and as to Iran not being in the 2014 Talks, shouldn't all factions within Syria make that decision or is it just the one faction and the U.S. that decide. Will Saudi or Israel (duh, the U.S. will be there) be represented?

[Occam's Banana]

GENEVA (AP) — A last-minute U.N. invitation for Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks threw the long-awaited Geneva conference into doubt Monday, forcing U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to rescind his offer under intense U.S. pressure after the opposition threatened to boycott.

With the invitation withdrawn, the main Western-backed opposition group said it would attend the talks aimed at ending Syria's ruinous three-year civil war. The opposition said the conference should seek to establish a transitional government with full executive powers "in which killers and criminals do not participate."

The surprise invitation, extended Sunday by the U.N. secretary-general, set off a flurry of diplomatic activity to salvage the talks. The U.S. said the offer should be rescinded, and the opposition threatened to skip the event entirely.

The conference is set to begin Wednesday in the Swiss luxury resort city of Montreux, with high-ranking delegations from the United States, Russia and close to 40 other countries attending. Face-to-face negotiations between the Syrian government and its opponents — the first of the uprising — are to start Friday in Geneva.

The uproar over Iran's invitation put the entire event at risk of being scuttled.

The Syrian National Coalition, which had voted late Saturday to attend after months of rancorous debate, issued an ultimatum, saying that Iran must commit publicly within hours to withdraw its "troops and militias" from Syria and abide by a 2012 roadmap to establish a transitional government. Otherwise, the group said, the U.N. should withdraw its invitation for Tehran to take part.

LMAO at the desperate spin being put on this by the Mouth of Sauron - erm, excuse me, I mean the Associated Press. (For just one thing, the ONLY reason the talks needed to be "salvaged" is because the US & its Syrian "opposition" puppets were trying to scuttle them).

Compare the above to the following:

FTA (emphasis added): http://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/how-dare-they-invite-iran-to-the-syria-peace-conference/

How Dare They Invite Iran to the Syria Peace Conference!

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had the temerity Monday to invite Iran to participate in the “Geneva II” conference on the ongoing crisis in Syria. Though one might believe Iran has a legitimate interest in a conflict right in its neighborhood, the US refused to allow Iran to participate unless its leadership agreed to the pre-condition that Assad must be driven from power. For the US, the result of the conference must be decided before the conference commences. It is Queen of Hearts diplomacy: sentence first, verdict afterward!

Mexico was invited to participate, but Iran, whose border with Syria is some 100 miles away, was forbidden by the US from attending.

So Monday’s unexpected invitation from Ban Ki Moon to Iran sent shockwaves through Foggy Bottom.

Secretary of State Kerry had a complete breakdown. He had just secured the participation of one US-favored Syrian oppositionist group — made up of exiles who have no political presence in Syria and who command none of the armed opposition groups on the ground. The UN invite to Iran broadsided a US administration desperate to hold on to the myth that there is a legitimate force waiting in the wings to lead Syria to a glorious democratic future (unlike in previous US-sponsored “liberations” in places like Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan).

The opposition Syrian Opposition Coalition gave a deadline of 2:00 PM Monday for the invitation to be rescinded or they would pull out of the conference, thereby putting truth to the lie that the US actually has any control over the groups to which it has funneled untold millions of dollars. As the Economist points out (http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21586879-islamist-rebels-sever-ties-political-opposition-their-own-men), in the larger scheme of things it matters not whether the group attends — the Syrian Opposition Coalition is “increasingly irrelevant.” They control none of the forces on the ground in Syria and therefore have no ability to implement an agreement even if one were reached.

In a move that should earn Ban Ki Moon an eternal place in the diplomacy hall of shame, under frantic pressure from Kerry and the US administration he quickly rescinded the invitation to the Iranians. Any doubt over who controls the UN should be confirmed by the Secretary General’s spineless obsequiousness.

Thus far the US has “won” and will not have to face an Iranian at the conference. But the Geneva II conference becomes a farce. An opposition group backed by the US and the “Friends of Syria” with no presence in Syria, no support in Syria, and no control over any fighting force among the more than 1,000 rebel militias will scream to representatives of the government of Syria that Assad must go and they should be installed into power. The representatives of the Syrian government, whose military is steadily defeating the various US/Saudi/Turk/Israel-supported jihadist groups will reject the proposal out of hand.

Russia, which aside from pointing out that banning Iran is an “unforgivable mistake” on the part of the US, has been largely silent today. The last time the US administration had backed itself into a corner with its diplomatic blundering on Syria the Russians provided a face-saving way out of the crisis — the voluntary relinquishing of chemical weapons by the Syrian government. The Syrian government’s reward for giving up these “WMDs” was similar to that of Gaddafi when he did the same: a renewed US regime change effort.

Do the Russians have another plan up their sleeve?

[Matthew5]

So since Iran wasn't invited, they're don't have to honor any deal coming from this, right?

[Peace&Freedom]

Russia and Iran don't have to give a high profile response to this, as the absurdity of the Western/US/Saudi position is plain.