The European Union has made a mistake by refusing to invite representatives of the Syrian government to attend a donor conference in Brussels, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said upon his arrival at the event. It was organized by the EU and the United Nations. “I think that’s a drawback of this conference,” TASS quoted the envoy as saying. Syrian representatives “should have been invited because we are talking about addressing the needs of the Syrian people, so there should be somebody representing the Syrian people,” Chizhov added. The two-day international donor conference on Syria opened in Brussels on April 24. The event involves representatives of more than 85 countries and organizations.