Ban Ki-moon bungles, backtracks on Syria meet
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's decision to first invite Iran to the peace conference on Syria and then rescind the invitation, has muddied international efforts to end the civil war in that country. While there is no doubt that Iran is a large and important regional player as well as a key stakeholder, given its staunch support for the Assad regime, there is also no looking away from the fact that Tehran has routinely dismissed all international efforts to end the fighting and pave the way for a political solution. Instead, it is known to have pursued an expansive and comprehensive effort to shore up President Bashar al-Assad's forces — from offering the support of Iranian military forces to reportedly sending in Hezbollah fighters to prop up pro-Government militias. The Ayatollah's Shiite regime in Tehran has traditionally been an ally of the minority Alawite administration in Damascus which ruled over a Sunni majority. To that extent, this support has been no surprise, especially since Iran now views the war as an opportunity to extend its regional influence. Against this backdrop, it was in fact rather surprising that Mr Ban invited Iran to join the peace process in the first place, because the latter has always maintained a position that is anti-thetical to the Western-mediated international opinion.
The Secretary General has said that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had in private agreed to support the 2012 Geneva communiqué but changed his opinion in public. The communiqué calls for a transitional regime that includes current Government and Opposition members, and forms the basis of the upcoming negotiations. If Iran does not support the 2012 agreement, then it really has no role at the conference. On its part, however, Iran has claimed this was not the “real reason” why the invitation was withdrawn — and these accusations may not be entirely false. After all, it is well known that there was significant pressure from the US and some parts of the Syrian Opposition against Iran's participation. In this context, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei lavrov's comment that Tehran's exclusion was a “mistake” has only complicated things further. Moscow is also a staunch supporter of the Assad regime and has effectively used the Syrian war as an opportunity to return to the world stage as a major diplomatic power broker. last year, for instance, it used its influence with Damascus to craft a peace deal of sorts that saw the Assad regime give up its chemical weapons and the Obama Administration hold back a potential aerial campaign in Syria. As of now, there is no telling if there were any behind-the-curtains machinations in the Iran episode that went awry, but one thing is clear: Mr Ban had sought to score a diplomatic victory but in the process bungled badly. Nevertheless, as leaders from all over the world, including India, gather in Switzerland for the next round of the talks, it is hoped that the Iran fiasco will not cast a shadow too long.