Iran Press/America: In a statement on Wednesday to the UN General Assembly session on the Situation in Afghanistan said that only Afghan people have the right to determine their country's fate and peace talks have to accommodate all factions of the country and held under their management.
"To be durable, peace in Afghanistan must be founded on the true aspirations and actual needs of Afghans and achieved through an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process involving all Afghan factions, including the Taliban," he said.
No country has the right to decide Afghanistan’s future. This right belongs exclusively to the Afghans themselves, Takht Ravanchi added.
"Accordingly, the Government of Afghanistan must have the central role in any peace effort."
Iran's top diplomat in the UN also warned: Any exclusive, unilateral and non-transparent peace talks, particularly in the absence of Afghanistan’s Government and its neighboring countries, has the least chance for success if it does not result in complete failure.
"Moreover, any peace effort must be based on preserving and promoting the past achievements of Afghanistan’s Government and people, particularly the Constitution and the political system as well as other institutions derived therefrom."
Referring to the case of an agreement to amend the Constitution, he said that it shall be conducted according to the procedure foreseen and under the supervision of the legitimate Government of Afghanistan.
"Ultimately, it must take into account the underlying causes of the conflict, particularly the presence of foreign forces," he stressed calling for "a time-bound and responsible withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan regardless of their mandate and structure."
"Prior and simultaneous to the withdrawal of foreign forces, every effort should be made to support and strengthen Afghanistan’s military and security forces as a high priority. It is essential, in particular, for combating terrorist groups, such as Daesh, whose introduction to Afghanistan has led to more bloodshed and dangerous sectarian tendencies."
Iran's permanent representative also offered Tehran's support to fight against Daesh and said, "While combating terrorists remains the responsibility of Afghanistan’s Government and the foreign forces present therein, Iran stands ready to support such efforts, particularly given its unique and extensive experience in helping the Governments and peoples of Iraq and Syria in defeating Daesh."
"Iran also has precious experience in combating drug trafficking, linked including to terrorism. The fact that in the past 40 years, 3,815 members of our law enforcement forces have been martyred and over 12,000 others have been wounded indicates our seriousness in this endeavor," he added.
"Our outstanding activities in combating drug traffickers have always been acknowledged at the global level. For instance, according to the UNODC’s “World Drug Report 2019”, in 2017, Iran had seized “the largest quantity of opiates … accounting for 39 percent of the global total” as well as the largest quantities of opium and the second-largest quantities of morphine and heroin.
We are determined to continue such efforts despite the detrimental effects of the United States’ illegal unilateral sanctions undermining our capabilities in this regard."
This is not, however, the only impact of the U.S. sanctions, the statement read.
"Unfortunately, these sanctions have serious negative consequences on the lives of over three million Afghan refugees in Iran, most of whom are now seriously contemplating migrating to other countries, including in Europe. The effects of U.S. sanctions on the fate of Afghan refugees must have been included in the draft resolution on the situation in Afghanistan to be adopted today, as it is expected to reflect all realities on the ground."
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