Algeria to participate in Friends of Syria meeting

Algeria is set to participate in the Friends of Syria meeting in Tehran. The Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci confirmed that he will attend the meeting to help find a political solution to the Syrian crisis. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sayed Abbas Arakagy said that the Friends of Syria meeting will work to achieve stability in the region through "political and peaceful means." He declared that senior officials and dignitaries from international organisations have been invited to the meeting, including the Tanzanian minister of defence, the Ecuadorian assistant foreign minister and the assistant minister of foreign affairs of Bolivia. The Venezuelan deputy minister of foreign affairs, Indonesian assistant foreign minister and the minister of justice of the Republic of Swaziland were also invited to the meeting. China will be represented by their assistant director-general of the foreign ministry, while Russia will be represented by its ambassador to Tehran. Other representatives include the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, the former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, the Assistant Foreign Minister of Oman Yousef Al Harthy and other representatives of international organisations and institutions. Riyadh and Doha have refused to attend the meeting though they have been invited. Meanwhile an Egyptian ministerial source, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said that Egypt will review the results of the quartet initiative of Iran, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia for resolving the Syrian crisis. The source stressed that the Egyptian delegation is committed to finding a peaceful solution and to ensuring the success of the United Nations Geneva Conference next month.