An informed source close to Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Turkish officials’ claims that Tehran, Moscow and Ankara have reached an agreement to invite the US to the upcoming Astana talks on Syria.
“Such an agreement has not been reached,” the informed source said on Monday, Fars News Agency reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday the US would be invited to the Jan. 23 Syrian peace summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Speaking to reporters at the Ninth Ambassadors’ Conference in the capital Ankara, Cavusoglu claimed that officials from Turkey, Russia and Iran met in Moscow on Friday to make preparations for the summit.
“We have agreed to invite the US to the talks. We will invite them. The US will be in Astana. We do not deny the contribution and role of the US,” Cavusoglu said.
However, US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said on Friday that Washington has not been invited to the talks.
Negotiations to reach a resolution to the six-year war in Syria are due to begin in the Kazakh capital between the Syrian government and opposition.
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