TEHRAN, December 06. /ITAR-TASS/. The second international conference on Syria in Geneva that is scheduled for January 22, 2014, should result in free elections in the country, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said here on Thursday after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

“The protection of the principles and demands of the Syrian people is our obligation, in particular, during the Geneva 2 conference,” the Iranian president said. The international forum should “pave the way to free elections without any preconditions,” as well as to the “full removal of terrorists from this country,” the president said.

The Iraqi government head for his part noted that the agreement that Tehran concluded with the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) on its nuclear dossier is important for Iraq and all countries of the region. Al-Maliki expressed the hope that this agreement would become a factor of stability in the Middle East in the longer term.