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Iran invited to talks aimed at ending Syria conflict: US officials

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Iran invited to talks aimed at ending Syria conflict: US officials

From left, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Feridun Sinirlioglu, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Arabia Adel al-Jubeir and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pose for a photo, during a meeting in Vienna, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015.

Washington - The officials, who weren't authorized to speak on the record and demanded anonymity, said Russia delivered the invitation; Iran has yet to respond.

Published: Tue 27 Oct 2015, 8:10 PM

Updated: Wed 28 Oct 2015, 9:10 AM

  • By
  • AP

US officials say Iran is being invited to participate for the first time in international talks aimed at peacefully ending Syria's four-year civil war.
The next diplomatic round starts Thursday in Vienna. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and several top European and Arab diplomats will attend.
The officials, who weren't authorized to speak on the record and demanded anonymity, said Russia delivered the invitation; Iran has yet to respond.
Washington had held out the possibility of Iran joining the discussions. But Syria's Western-backed opposition and U.S. allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, opposed such a move.
Iran has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad's government throughout the conflict, fighting alongside Syria's military. The US and its allies support the opposition.



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