William Hague snubs Labour call to include Iran in peace talks

The foreign secretary, William Hague, has rejected Labour calls for Iran to be included in Syrian peace talks, saying the Iranian regime was actively engaged in assisting widespread murder by the Assad regime, and had not yet expressed support for a transitional government in Syria.

The shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, had called for a Syrian contact group to be formed involving key countries in the region, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, designed to kickstart a second round of peace talks in Geneva.

Iranian involvement was also supported by the former Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw and some Tory MPs during Foreign Office questions on Tuesday.

Hague said he was willing to meet the new Iranian foreign minister at a UN special assembly in New York, but questioned the over-optimistic view of Iranian diplomacy among some MPs.

Hague rejected the idea of a contact group proposed by Alexander and seen by Labour as successful in Lebanon.

Hague was wary of Iranian involvement, pointing out that Tehran had not been prepared to endorse the outcome of the first Geneva conference calling for a transitional government in Syria. He also said Iran was "actively engaged in assisting widespread murder by the Assad regime".

He said it was not a lack of forums that was a stumbling block to a settlement on Syria, but the lack of political agreement.

He explained: "Our problem is not being unable to discuss these things in the international community – it is being unable to agree how we bring about a transitional government in Syria, formed from government and opposition by mutual consent.

"There is no shortage of venues for discussing those things, platforms for discussing those things – we have had two and a half years of discussion on this. It is agreement that is elusive, not a forum for discussion."

Hague also assured Conservative MPs that there would not be a second vote on UK involvement in any attack on the Syrian regime. He stressed that any vote would not be on the same terms, suggesting that the government was keeping its options open in case circumstances changed radically.

The cabinet also reviewed the state of the diplomatic, humanitarian and military crisis on Syria, and agreed a second Commons vote was impossible after David Cameron's unexpected defeat last Thursday.

It was notable that Hague held back from attacking Labour's stance on Syria, but it is unlikely that Cameron will be as constrained at prime minister's questions on Wednesday.

Labour has been keen to set out a fresh diplomatic path in light of its rejection of a military route.

Alexander expressed disappointment that Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN special envoy, will not be attending the G20 summit in St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday.

After the Commons exchanges Alexander said: "It is deeply disappointing that the foreign secretary has apparently accepted that world leaders won't even get to discuss Syria collectively at the G20 summit in Russia this week.

"As the leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies meet this week, the UK must request that the Syrian crisis is top of the agenda, not just discussed on the margins of the meeting.

"Sadly, the foreign secretary today appeared to rule out the UK pressing for UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to be invited to the G20 summit, and for a Syria contact group to be created as a matter of urgency.

"The scale of the suffering in Syria demands a more active diplomatic engagement ahead of this week's summit."

Hague said Syria would dominate the bilaterals at the G20, but the formal summit organised by Russia, one of Assad's strongest allies, is under the control of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

He pointed out that Russia supported a second Geneva conference and it was incumbent on Russia to do more.

Hague also said more would have to be done to help with the refugee crisis on the borders of Syria, saying the British government has already spent more than £350m to help the Syrian humanitarian crisis now estimated to involve 2 million refugees.

He added: "There have often been, and continues to be, severe problems of humanitarian access – often not permitted by the regime.

"It is another testimony towards the callousness of this regime towards its own people that not only have they killed so many tens of thousands but also that they obstruct the delivery of aid, including medical supplies, to people in their own country who desperately need it."