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China and Iran seek common ground on Afghanistan
- Chinese foreign minister says Beijing is looking to work with Tehran to help rebuild their war-torn neighbour
- Wang Yi accuses US of withdrawing from Afghanistan to focus more forces on China and Russia
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China aims to work with Iran in the reconstruction of their mutual neighbour Afghanistan, China’s foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call on Friday.
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In the call to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Wang Yi and newly appointed Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian blamed the United States for conditions in Afghanistan, and committed their countries to helping rebuild the war-torn nation.
“As Afghanistan’s neighbours, China and Iran need to strengthen communication and coordination and play a constructive role in achieving a smooth transition and peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan,” Wang was quoted by the Chinese foreign ministry as saying.
Wang repeated calls for Afghanistan to cut ties with terror groups, and build friendly relations with other nations.
Wang also accused the US of withdrawing from Afghanistan so it could “concentrate its forces on China and Russia”.
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“[The US] should not try to use various means to create new problems for Afghanistan, nor should it cause new turbulence and harm [Afghanistan’s] neighbours,” he said.
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