Iran invited to conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul

The conference is organized by the United Nations, Turkey, and Qatar.

"Invitations have been sent to Austria, Azerbaijan, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, to the EU high commissioner, the NATO secretary-general, and the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation," the source was quoted as saying by TASS.

According to United Nations Secretary-General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, UN chief Antonio Guterres plans to take part in the conference in a videoconference format.

The Turkish foreign ministry said earlier that a conference on peace settlement in Afghanistan would be held with the participation of representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban.

It stressed that the key goal of the conference was to give a fresh impetus to the intra-Afghan talks in Doha and supplement them.

Iran has repeatedly highlighted Tehran’s full support for the efforts to realize peace and lasting stability in Afghanistan.

In a telephone conversation on Monday, the Iranian foreign minister’s special envoy for Afghanistan Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian and Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar held talks as part of Iran's consultations with Afghan authorities on the country's peace process.

HJ/PR