The Geneva II conference is not what is important about the Syrian crisis and the talks are “merely a diplomatic public relations stunt”, said a senior political analyst.

In an online correspondence with Nasim, Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, an expert at Canada’s Centre for Research on Globalization, asserted that importance lies in the continuing negotiations behind the curtains and the communication channels that the conference in Switzerland will initiate.

“There should be no illusions about it, the Syrian delegation went to the conference to talk to the foreign masters of the so-called Syrian opposition directly,” he posited adding that Iran attending such a worthless conference would have made no meaningful difference.

He added that the US and countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia merely did not want Iran invited to the conference as a means to avoid acknowledgement that Iran is the main regional power in the Middle East. By not inviting Iran they merely aimed to belittle Tehran’s international status. Not inviting the Iranian government is also one of the few victories they can achieve right now after failing to conquer both Syria and Lebanon in the last few years.

He also commented on US dishonesty in the public when it reneges on its private promises during talks, and said, “the US tells its public that Iran is not allowed to enrich uranium, but accepts it in private. There is a possibility that during closed door negotiations over Syria that the US will secretly withdraw its demands that Bashar Al-Assad be removed from the presidency.”

Elsewhere in the correspondence, Nazemroaya underscored Iran sanctions by the US, saying the US knows that it needs to talk to Iran and the language of force or threats will not go anywhere. “Even the sanctions are not just hurting only Iran. They are having bad effects on the economies of the European Union, East Asia, and Turkey. The tempo for the outcome will be set in the next six months, but we will have to wait at least a whole year before we can clearly see the road that the US will take in its relations with Iran.”