WORLD> Middle East
Iran expects US invitation for Afghanistan meeting
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-07 19:15

TEHRAN -- Iran would consider a US invitation to attend a meeting on Afghanistan as it considered stability in the neighboring country a priority, a government spokesman said on Saturday.

"If they (Western countries) need us, they should offer (an invitation). We will review it based on a stance that we will help Afghanistan," Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham told a press conference.

"Stability in Afghanistan is one of Iran's priorities," he added.

The Iranian government spokesman stressed that the United States and other Western countries had realized that they had to enlist Iran's participation in order to solve the Afghanistan issue.

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His remarks came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that Iran could be invited to attend a US-proposed international conference on Afghanistan.

"If we move forward with such a meeting, it is expected that Iran will be invited as a neighbor of Afghanistan," said Clinton at a press conference at the end of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters later on Thursday that the United States hoped all Afghanistan's neighbors, including Iran, would attend the proposed international conference on Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is something that presents a great challenge, not just for our country, but for the rest of the world ... Obviously we hope that all of Afghanistan's neighbors are available and that the dialogue is constructive and moves us forward," Gibbs said.

"I would expect that Iran would be invited as a neighbor and that we hope, if they decide to come, that they bring constructive solutions and ideas in working with the international community to address the challenges," Gibbs noted.

It is reported that the United States had proposed that the meeting be held on March 31 to contribute to stabilizing Afghanistan and fighting Taliban-led insurgency.

It would be sponsored by the United Nations and chaired by UN special representative for Afghanistan, Kai Eide of Norway.

Washington is still discussing with the United Nations about the possibility of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opening the meeting.

US President Barrack Obama's administration has taken Afghanistan a top priority, having approved a plan to send 17,000 additional troops to the Asian country.