IRAN, BRITAIN, AFGHANISTAN HELD "CONSTRUCTIVE TALKS" IN TEHRAN
TEHRAN 22 Nov. (IPS) Visiting British Foreign Minister Jack Straw arrived in Tehran on Thursday and started immediately his talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mr. Kamal Kharrazi, reviewing with him "the latest regional developments with senior Iranian officials", according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
"Tehran-London regional cooperation and the critical situation in the war-torn Afghanistan will be discussed by the two sides", Foreign Ministry’s senior spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told the pro-government official news agency IRNA.
This is Mr. Straw’s second visit to Tehran in less than two months. He came here on September 25 for a one-day visit, the first ever by a British foreign secretary, since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The tow men also met on 14 November at the United Nations, in the sidelines of the UN’s General Assembly in New York.
"Considering the strategic importance of Iran and the important role it plays in Afghanistan, it is natural that Tehran is the focus of international attention", the Iraqi-born Asefi told Tehran Radio.
Mr. Straw, who is on a two-day trip to Iran and Pakistan as part of negotiations over the future of Afghanistan, also met with Dr. Abdollah Abdollah, the Northern Alliance’s foreign minister.
Like other parties in volved in the Afghan imbroglio, including Washington, the European Union and the United Nation, Iran, too, want to see a broad-based, multi-ethnic government replace the Taleban movement in Afghanistan.
But Islamabad wants Pashtoons, who form Afghanistan's largest ethnic group and who dominate much of Pakistan's border regions, to take a leading role in a future government. Tehran wants the minority Shi'ite Muslims to be represented.
Straw told the UK Press Association he had "very constructive discussions" with Kharrazi.
"I expressed my appreciation to the government of Iran for the encouragement which they have given to the Northern Alliance, with which they have been closely associated, to ensure that they in turn were committed to that broad-based, multi-ethnic government", he said.
Straw said the Northern Alliance's military success was a result of the overwhelming assistance they had received from the United States, backed up by the UK, a role that Iran plays down.
After meeting Straw, Kharrazi told reporters he doubted whether the Afghans wanted to see more foreign troops deployed on their soil.
"This is a very sensitive issue to Afghans. Never have they been happy for any foreign troops to be stationed in their country. I believe Afghans to not prefer to have foreign troops on their soil", he told PA.
But Mr. Straw told the BBC in Tehran that the Afghans "might not want foreign interference, but they do want foreign assistance", adding that they are "well aware of the importance of the presence of American and British soldiers to fight Taleban and find Ben Laden".
Kharrazi said there might be a role for some former Taleban followers in a new government. "There are people who have been working with the Taleban government but not affiliated to the mentality of the Taleban," he said.
"They can be helpful to the new government. I don't call them moderate Taleban elements, I just call them Afghans who happen to be working for the Taleban as experts, administrators, ordinary Afghans".
Straw left Tehran in the evening for Islamabad, where his Pakistani counterpart Abdol Sattar greeted him at the airport.
He is expected meet Pakistan's President, General Parviz Mosharraf, early on Friday before leaving the city by midday, the sources said. ENDS IRAN BRITAIN AFGHANISTAN 221101