VIENNA, Oct. 28 (UPI) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will attend talks in Vienna over the Syrian civil war this week, joining the United States, Russia and other nations.
“We have reviewed the invitation, and it was decided that the foreign minister would attend the talks,” Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in a BBC News report.
Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt also are scheduled to attend the meetings set for Thursday and Friday.
If Iran attends, it will be the first time Secretary of State John Kerry enters negotiations with Tehran on matters other than the nuclear agreement reached in July, The New York Times reported.
Russia, an ally to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has continuously stated that Iran, another Assad ally, needs to be involved in talks that hope to create a political solution to the Syrian conflict. The United States has criticized Iran’s activities in Syria, but State Department spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday said Iran’s entry into the discussion was needed.
The United States has “recognized that at some point in the discussion, moving toward a political transition, we have to have a conversation and a dialogue with Iran,” Kirby said.
More than 250,000 people have died and more than 11 million have been displaced by the Syrian civil war. A U.S.-led coalition has carried out more than 7,000 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq for more than a year.
Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently approved of the U.S.-led nuclear agreement, but often warned against any further discussions on any other matters.
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