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Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird plans to take a pass on this week’s high-level meeting, chaired by his Norwegian counterpart, on the future of Syria at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
However, Baird will attend separate sessions Thursday on the crisis in Ukraine and a meeting focused on the instability being caused by militants in Iraq and Syria.
The details are contained in a copy of Baird’s updated itinerary obtained by The Canadian Press.
Baird was among two dozen international figures invited to what was billed as a make-or-break discussion Friday on Syria, along with representatives from Iraq, Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and the League of Arab States.
Also on the guest list is Iran’s foreign minister.
Canada has severed relations with Iran, a country that’s often a target for criticism from Baird.
Syria’s nearly four years of civil strife has displaced nearly half its population, or 9.5 million people, and has left an estimated 220,000 dead.
“We are thus at a possible ‘make-or-break’ moment for the future viability of Syria as a state, with serious consequences for Syrians, the region and the world,” says a separate confidential memo about Friday’s Syria meeting, obtained by The Canadian Press.
