Moscow Format participants rejected US return to Afghanistan

"In the Moscow Format meeting in Kazan, Russia, I emphasized regional initiatives and the formation of a regional contact group after referring to the US destructive role; It was a principled solution that was agreed upon by all participants in the meeting," Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian president's special envoy for Afghanistan who is also the Iranian ambassador to Kabul, wrote in a post on his X account on Saturday after attending the 5th meeting of the Moscow Format on Afghanistan with participation of Afghanistan neighboring countries and a Taliban delegation.

"The cooperation and consensus of the participants in the Moscow Format were on preventing the re-entry of the United States and paying attention to holding it to account for the damages it inflicted after 20 years of occupation," the senior Iranian diplomat added.

"While appreciating the caretaker [Taliban] government's actions in confronting with the ISIL terrorist group and efforts to improve the economic situation, I emphasized the need to respond to the concerns of the people of Afghanistan and neighboring countries," he added.

Kazemi Qomi further wrote, "The participating countries' welcoming and companionship and their shared concerns showed hopeful movements in the future for Afghanistan without the presence of foreigners."

He concluded by hoping that the participants' actions would match their words in the future.

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