Iran, China Discuss Afghan Developments

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Special Envoy for Afghan Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Yue Xiaoyong held a meeting in Tehran on Monday to talk about the latest developments in Afghanistan.

Expounding on Iran’s stances on the recent developments, Zarif voiced Tehran’s support for the formation of a Coordination Council for the peaceful transition of power in order to prevent any escalation of violence and the outbreak of war in Afghanistan.

He also noted that one of the most pressing issues concerning Afghanistan relates to the people displaced amid the recent developments and their influx into neighboring states, calling for serious attention to the problem considering the tough situation caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

For his part, the Chinese envoy hailed the 50th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Iran, highlighting the significance of strategic cooperation between the two nations in various fields.

Yue also expressed his country’s views on the developments in Afghanistan, stressing the need for cooperation among regional countries, especially the neighbors of Afghanistan.

The Taliban have declared the war in Afghanistan over after taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul while many nations scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the airport as frantic Afghans searched for a way out.

President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Taliban entered the capital virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others, melted away.