MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s decision to cancel Iran's invitation to this week's peace talks on Syria was a mistake.
Iran’s invitation was withdrawn Monday after the Syrian opposition’s National Coalition threatened to boycott Wednesday’s conference if the Iranians took part.
“Of course it is a mistake, but no catastrophe has taken place," Lavrov told reporters at an annual press conference in Moscow.
Russia had insisted that Iran should participate in the so-called Geneva 2 peace talks due to start in Montreux, Switzerland on Wednesday.
Iran’s presence at the talks was vehemently opposed by the Syrian opposition because Iran has been a key regional ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the uprising against his government began almost three years ago.
