Iran will be at the table for the first time as diplomats from the United States and other world powers gather in Vienna Thursday for new talks aimed at ending Syria’s civil war, marking the end of a long effort by Washington to freeze out Iran because of Tehran’s support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Obama administration officials quietly began shifting their position following the emergence of Russia — also a backer of the Assad regime and an increasingly close ally of Tehran — as a major new player in Syria with its stepped-up military campaign there in recent weeks.
While high-level representatives from Moscow, Western Europe and Saudi Arabia will attend the two-day talks, Iran’s participation will mark the first time Secretary of State John F. Kerry has engaged diplomatically with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on issues outside the realm of this summer’s talks on a deal to curb Iran’s suspect nuclear programs.
Some American officials have privately voiced concern the move risks further legitimizing the regime in Tehran on the global diplomatic stage, even as Washington continues to rank the Islamic republic as one of the world’s top state sponsors of terrorism.
But the Obama administration has come around to the idea more recently. “We’re very much looking forward to this,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday, although he also asserted that “it’s a complicated process.”
The U.S. and regional Arab allies led by Saudi Arabia have demanded Mr. Assad must step down as part of any final deal, given the huge losses the country has suffered during the civil war, a pre-condition Russia and Iran have rejected.
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Both Moscow and Tehran have said they would support a political solution in Syria, but both have also stressed that Mr. Assad should have an active role in the process.
The Vienna talks are expected to center on whether the Obama administration can offer the Russians and the Iranians something tangible to persuade them to abandon the Syrian president in favor of a mutually acceptable transition leader. But there’s no agreement on a replacement, or on how a new Syrian government will be able to take on Islamic State and other jihadi groups operating in the country.
Despite the uncertainties, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson said Wednesday that “the solution can only come though political transition” in Syria, while telling a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Wednesday “we are very mindful of Iranian adventurism in this region.”
Retired Marine Gen. John Allen, President Obama’s special envoy for the fight against the Islamic State, told the panel the Russians intervened because Mr. Assad was “teetering on the edge.”
“But I think what [the Russians] are discovering relatively quickly is that if they’re not part of the political transition, then they’re going to be part of the problem and that problem’s going to come home to roost for them,” Gen. Allen said.
Mr. Kirby told reporters that Mr. Assad’s future and the role of U.S.-backed rebel forces will all be on the table in Vienna.
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Officials in Saudi Arabia said their goal heading into the talks is to gauge whether Tehran and Moscow are serious about a peace deal.
According to Reuters, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also said that Riyadh and its allies will hold a separate meeting Friday to seek “the time and means of Bashar al-Assad’s exit.”
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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