"In this case, we are speaking about a one-day event on Jan. 22, to which some 40 foreign ministers from different states, including the most remote regions, have been invited," Lavrov said. Lavrov cited U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who earlier said Iran must play an important role in the search for generally accepted ways of settling the Syrian crisis. The Russian foreign minister said Iran's absence at Geneva-II would not facilitate defeating terrorism in the Muslim world, nor provide unity of the Muslim world. "Terrorism is a threat to us all, Muslims including," Lavrov said, adding Moscow had consistently warned of the danger of a split in the Muslim world, which would bring about catastrophic consequences. He said the situation that occurred when the international peace conference on Syria was organized did not add authority to the UN. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon initially invited Iran to Geneva-II but later revoked the invitation, saying Tehran had failed to confirm its adherence to the Geneva-I communique. Meanwhile, Lavrov said Russia was trying its best to "promote political settlement" of the Syrian crisis. "We are satisfied with the fact that reasonable approaches based on the logic of peace and basic principles of international law prevailed," he said, adding Russia was against unilateral actions, including attempts to use force bypassing the UN Charter.