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Press TV has conducted an interview with Wilmer Leon, professor at Howard University, about Russia and the United States offering sharply contrasting views during the underway Geneva II conference on the Syrian crisis.

- Would you also agree there that the Geneva II meeting is not going to help resolve the situation and what do you think is the most urgent problem that needs to be tackled now?

- Well no, I do not see that this first round of talks is really going to result in anything tangible. I think when you look at the history of processes like this, they have to start some place and this is a place to start.

But I think the real problem here has to do with the role that Iran is going to play and how players in the region such as Israel want to do everything that they can possibly do to keep Iran from demonstrating any type of influence whether that be above board and right out front or whether it be behind the scenes.

I think at the end of the day the exclusion of Iran from these talks is a huge, huge mistake because you cannot really come to a peaceful and long-term resolution unless Iran is involved in the conversation.

- And while you are on the issue of Iran, what did you think about the UN Secretary General’s decision because he did officially invite Iran and then he withdrew that invitation and Iran said that was because it was under pressure from the US.

What do you think that situation has exactly done to the position of the United Nations?

- Well I think it has once again demonstrated that the United Nations is far from being a viable, independent, powerful force for change and for good.
I think what that continues to demonstrate is that the United Nations is really controlled by a very small number of countries to the most powerful of which are Israel and United States and in this instance I think the United States is doing the bidding of Israel.

- And just before we let you go Dr. Leon, a lot of people are saying before we can even talk about a political solution to the crisis in Syria, we need to bring about a ceasefire and to end the fighting and the bloodshed.

But how can that be brought about in your opinion? Is the only way now for those who are sponsoring these insurgents to stop their support and is not going to work?

- Honestly if I had the answer to that question I would not be sitting in my office here, I would be in Switzerland giving them the solution.

I honestly do not now the answer because you have so many desperate interests that are involved in the outcome of this process. I mean you have the Israeli-Palestinian process that is involved in this, you have the US occupation of Iraq that is involved in this, you have Lebanon, you have Turkey, you have Russia and their naval interests are very concerned about the outcome in Syria.

There are so many very interests here. It is not as simple as Party A and Party B coming to a resolution. You have Party A being controlled by a number of interests, you have Party B being controlled by a number of interests and how you get all of those interests to come together to a resolution, I honestly do not know.