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Sara Flounders: US tried to exclude Iran from Syria talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov take their seats as they met as part of talks with counterparts from Turkey and Saudi Arabia to discuss the conflict in Syria on October 23, 2015 in Vienna. (AFP photo)

Press TV has interviewed Sara Flounders, a member of the International Action Center in New York, about Russia highlighting Iran’s role in resolving the ongoing conflict in Syria, saying that the settlement of the crisis gripping the Arab country has “no prospect” without the Islamic Republic’s participation.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Certainly Russia seems to be speaking of logic here - regional partners such as Iran should be involved in talks. Do you think anyone is going to respect those words?

Flounders: Well of course Iran has every right to be and has to be involved in any discussion, peace agreement accord on Syria but the US has made every effort to exclude Iran both in 2012 and in 2014 exerting great pressure to keep Iran out of any kind of settlement.

In the final analysis it is really up to Syria and the Syrian people, but there is no way of understanding this war without knowing the aggressive outside intervention orchestrated in great part by the US and their determination that a so-called peace settlement on their terms would meant regime change and Russia putting forth now new proposals and proposals that involve all the countries of the region including Iran. This is an important, different direction.

Press TV: From the get go, Russia has been trying to communicate as much as possible with the likes of the US ever since it has been fighting Daesh in Syria. So I am wondering, do you think the US will at some point have to respond because it seems to be losing the PR game here, doesn’t it?

Flounders: Well they are losing even more than the PR game, really their strategic aims to destroy Syria, to pull it apart and to set up a completely complicit weak government. That was their aim for the region and certainly their aim for Syria and that has been set back substantially and it has been set back due to Iranian and Russian assistance to the government of Syria and the government of Syria  has every right to ask for assistance especially considering this massive outside intervention of more than a hundred thousand mercenary, reactionary forces invading from some 80 countries and having US and EU air cover under the claim that they are fighting ISIS or Daesh.


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