Dialogue Sole Way to Resolve Afghan Crisis: Raisi

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi underlined that the conflicts in Afghanistan could be settled only through dialogue among the Afghan parties and in a process managed by the Afghans themselves.

Addressing the Summit of Collective Security Treaty Organization on Afghanistan, held on the sidelines of the 21st SCO Summit in Tajikistan on Friday, President Raisi called on the international community and the regional nations to mobilize all efforts to support the formation of internal consensus among the Afghan currents and encourage all Afghan parties to return to the negotiation table to settle the differences.

The US presence in Afghanistan has resulted in nothing but increased instability, growth of terrorism, an increase in drug production, spread of crimes, destruction of economic infrastructures, and the suffering of the oppressed families of Afghanistan, the Iranian president deplored.

“The quick fall of the Afghan government showed well that the structures that the United States created in this country are very weak,” he noted.

“The history of Afghanistan teaches an important lesson about the resistance of this country against foreign intervention, and the people of Afghanistan proved that they do not accept a foreign country to decide their fate,” President Raisi noted.

He then emphasized that Afghanistan’s neighbors have a very important responsibility in such historical and delicate juncture, adding, “We must provide conditions for the people and groups in the country to have a positive and peaceful interaction and to be able to portray their country’s future correctly.”

“We believe that peace in Afghanistan will be lasting when the government and the pillars of governance reflect the makeup of Afghan society and all tribes and groups of this country really feel that they have an effective partnership in the government, and governance is based on the opinion of the people,” the Iranian president underscored.

In remarks made earlier in the day at the 21st Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), President Raisi had reiterated Iran’s readiness to devote all its efforts to the establishment of an “inclusive, comprehensive and independent” government in Afghanistan like all the difficult years in the past.

He, however, emphasized that the realization of such a goal cannot take place by only one country and “requires joint and organized work in the form of regional mechanisms.”