In a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in the margins of an international conference on the future of Afghanistan in Kabul, Hague asked Iran to use its regional influence and help Annan’s peace plan succeed.
This comes as earlier this month Hague opposed international mediator Kofi Annan’s suggestion that Iran should be involved in any “solution” to the unrest in Syria.
“Iran, as an important country in the region, I hope will be part of the solution,” said Annan at the UN General Assembly on 7 June as he proposed the establishment of a “contact group” of world and regional powers to successfully implement his peace plan.
Hague opposed Annan’s proposal refusing to acknowledge Iran’s importance in the region saying “It’s very difficult to see how Iran could be part of that”.
In his meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister, however, Hague has taken a U-turn and has asked Iran to play a role in Annan’s peace plan as a statement on the official website of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office read: “On Syria the Foreign Secretary urged Iran to use its influence in support of full implementation of the Annan Plan”.
Nonetheless, Britain’s call for Iran’s help comes as recent reports from The Daily Star said Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) and MI6 agents were setting up camps in Syria to help armed rebels in case a civil war would break out in the country.
Moreover, earlier this week, reports also told of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s joke with his fellow Tory MPs saying “Where shall I invade next? I’ve done Libya” as he stopped in front of a map of the world at his Downing Street flat.
ISH/JR/HE
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