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China lobbies Russia, Iran and Pakistan to show unity on Afghanistan
- Beijing seeks at four-nation meeting to strengthen coordination to prevent chaos, curb terrorism and rebuild peace
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov both blame Washington for the situation in the Central Asian country
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China has lobbied Russia, Iran and Pakistan to take a unified stance on Afghanistan, focusing on holding the United States accountable for the chaos in the war-torn nation and stemming security threats to neighbouring countries.
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In meetings on Friday of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), both in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, Chinese President Xi Jinping – joining by video link – called for guidance to push the Afghan Taliban to be inclusive and for Afghanistan’s sovereignty to be respected, a day after the four nations’ foreign ministers met in the same city to discuss the situation.
Xi said the international community had to let different people in Afghanistan fully take the fate of their nation in their own hands, based on respecting the country’s sovereignty and territory.
“We should start interaction with different parties in Afghanistan, and guide the new regime of the nation to be more open and inclusive,” Xi said.
02:20
Taliban commander says women and men ‘cannot work together’, prompting UN rights fears
Taliban commander says women and men ‘cannot work together’, prompting UN rights fears
Without naming the US, Xi said nations that had caused the chaos should learn a lesson and “share responsibility for the future of Afghanistan”, according to state-run Xinhua.
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