UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Monday, January 20, excluded Iran from this week’s Syria peace conference after it refused to back calls for a transitional government to end the country’s war. The talks start in the Swiss town of Montreux on Wednesday, January 22. The UN secretary general was forced to act after the Syrian opposition threatened to withdraw from the talks if Iran takes part. Iran is a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The main opposition welcomed Ban’s move and said it would be in Switzerland this week. The Syrian government and the opposition will start talks in Geneva on Friday. The conference faces major obstacles with fresh attacks and Assad’s refusal to consider standing down – a key demand of the Syrian opposition. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Assad bluntly ruled out a power-sharing deal, insisting the talks should focus on what he called his “war against terrorism”. Russia, a key sponsor of the Geneva talks and an Assad ally, said Iran’s absence would be an “unforgivable mistake.”
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