France Sets Conditions for Including Iran, an Assad Ally, in Syria Peace Talks

In a softening of the Western stance on Iran, France’s foreign minister said on Monday that Iran could be included, under certain conditions, in a Geneva conference that would seek to negotiate an end to Syria’s bloody civil war.

In a meeting with the editorial board of The New York Times, the minister, Laurent Fabius, said Iran would need to accept the goal of the conference: the establishment by consensus of a transitional government that would not include President Bashar al-Assad.

Iran would also need to understand, Mr. Fabius said, that it would not be rewarded for any cooperation on Syria by being granted flexibility to pursue its nuclear program, another major issue between Iran and the West.

“There is an argument, which is a strong one, for the presence of Iran,” Mr. Fabius said, referring to any Syria peace negotiations. “When you have to make peace, it is between fighters, and Iran is involved in the conflict.”

“But two ‘buts,’ ” he added.

“They have to accept expressly the aim of Geneva II,” Mr. Fabius said, using the diplomatic shorthand for the proposed conference.

“Second point, it should be made clear to the Iranians that there is a Chinese wall between the Syrian case and the nuclear program.” he said. “They cannot say, ‘We agree to offer a solution on the Syrian problem if you are loose on the nuclear weapon.’ No, these are two different things.”

Mr. Fabius spoke on the eve of speeches by world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, where the Syria conflict is expected to be an overriding theme.

While a major order of business is working out the terms of a United Nations Security Council resolution that would enforce the agreement reached last week to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program, diplomats have also been discussing how and when to convene a conference to try to settle the civil war in Syria.

Agreement was reached at a 2012 meeting in Geneva, known as Geneva I, on the basic goal of talks to forge a political solution for Syria. But no date for a peace conference — known as Geneva II — that would include representatives of the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition has been set.

One obstacle involves which nations should attend. Russia, for example, has insisted that Iran should participate. Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy on Syria, has also urged that Iran take part.

The United States and its allies have opposed including Iran, which has sent members of its paramilitary Quds Force to help the Assad government and has been supplying arms as well.

American officials have not publicly been as forward leaning as Mr. Fabius on Iran’s inclusion in talks, which would be aimed at creating a transitional government with full authority. They appear to be waiting to see what happens at a Thursday session at which Iran’s new foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, will meet counterparts from the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany on Iran’s nuclear program.

A meeting between Mr. Zarif and the Security Council members, which would include Secretary of State John Kerry, would be one of the highest-level face-to-face contacts between Iran and the United States in more than three decades of estrangement. It would also be the first meeting of Mr. Kerry and Mr. Zarif in their current roles.

Mr. Zarif is an American-educated diplomat appointed by the new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani. Both have sought to distinguish themselves from the hard-line approach of the last president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They have been outspoken in asserting that Iran is ready to advance the negotiations on the nuclear dispute, which has drawn heavy Western sanctions and left the country increasingly isolated economically.

Iran has asserted that its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes, denying assertions from the West and Israel that it is developing the capability to make nuclear weapons. The Israeli government, which particularly mistrusts Iran’s nuclear intentions, has dismissed the new Iranian diplomatic effort as a public relations maneuver.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, met with the Iranian foreign minister on Monday and described her discussions with him as constructive. Ms. Ashton said Mr. Zarif, whom she had never met face to face before Monday, had “talked about a number of issues but focused on the nuclear issue.”

Mr. Zarif did not speak to reporters about the meeting with Ms. Ashton. But he used his now-famous Twitter account, a relative novelty for Iran’s post-Ahmadinejad government, to post a quick appraisal. “Positive initial meeting with Ashton,” Mr. Zarif wrote. “Meet with 5+1 ministers on Thursday and next round in October. Need new start under new circumstances.”

The State Department reacted cautiously, reflecting the Obama administration’s position that Iran’s leaders should be judged by their actions. Iran has refused to comply with Security Council requests that it suspend uranium enrichment and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear monitor of the United Nations, to examine a restricted military site in Iran. Agency investigators have long sought unfettered access to the site, Parchin, on the suspicion that it may once have been a testing ground for nuclear weapons triggers. Iran has denied this.

Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said: “As we have said previously, we hope that the new Iranian government will engage substantively with the international community to reach a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program and to cooperate fully with the I.A.E.A. in its investigation. We remain ready to work with Iran should the Rouhani administration choose to engage seriously.”

William Hague, the British foreign secretary, told reporters Monday that he had held “a constructive first meeting” with Mr. Zarif and that he thought Iran might play “a constructive role” in talks over the Syria conflict. But he stressed that Britain expected Iran to take “concrete steps to address the international community’s concerns.”

“If they really mean what they’re saying, then certainly it will be possible,” Mr. Hague said.