21 Jan 2014 11:47

Russian foreign minister calls UN decision to drop Iran's Geneva II invitation a mistake

MOSCOW. Jan 21 (Interfax) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's decision to withdraw his invitation to Iran to attend the Geneva II international conference on Syria is a mistake, but it is not a catastrophe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"It is certainly a mistake. I said this before. But no catastrophe has occurred. In this case, we are speaking about a one-day event on January 22, to which some 40 foreign ministers from different states, including the most remote regions, have been invited," Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"But certainly, despite the largely ceremonial nature of this event, the absence of Iran from this list of 40 states cannot help but raise questions," he said.