Iran calls dozen states on meeting

TEHRAN / ANKARA

A dozen countries are expected to attend a hastily called meeting in Tehran today to discuss ways to end the violence in Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said, without saying who was coming.

“The consultative meeting on Syria will be held in Tehran with 12 to 13 countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America” represented, Salehi said yesterday. Turkey had not decided whether it would participate in the meeting or not, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said. “Its format and targets are important as well,” he said, adding that Ankara was still considering participating.

Salehi said that in his meeting in Ankara with Davutoğlu he had underlined that Iran was seeking inclusive dialogue on Syria to end the violence. “I insisted that Iran is prepared to host a meeting with the [Syrian] opposition groups in Iran and wants them to sit next to each other in Iran and talk to the Syrian government,” he said yesterday. The international envoy Kofi Annan will not send a representative. Lebanon is not attending too. Iraq’s foreign ministry said it was not yet sure whether Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari would attend.