At the end of March Hillary Clinton the US Secretary of States called Afghanistan for a high-level conference. Hillary Clinton said the meeting is for find the solutions to the situation in Afghanistan can only be found if the countries involved, including Iran.
On Friday Clinton will meet Sergei Lavrov, her Russian counterpart. She was speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, where the alliance agreed to resume high-level contacts with Russia. Russia welcomed the Nato decision, which comes six months after it froze contacts over the conflict between Russia and Georgia.
Clinton said Afghanistan is "NATO’s biggest military challenge", was a concern for both Russia and the West. She added "If we move forward with such a meeting, it is expected that Iran would be invited as a neighbor of Afghanistan."
Bernard Kouchner the French Foreign Minister said that he hoped Iran would attend such a meeting, but noted that Tehran had failed to attend recent French talks on Afghanistan. Mr Kouchner added "I hope Iran will be here this time."
On Friday, Mrs Clinton will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The US is hoping that Russia will help secure new and safer supply lines for NATO troops in Afghanistan. Russia’s help is also crucial in engaging Iran and curbing its nuclear plans.
Clinton Said "We can and must find ways to work constructively with Russia where we share areas of common interest, including helping the people of Afghanistan."
But David Miliband the UK Foreign Secretary told that it was not "business as usual" with Moscow.
He said "the invasion of Georgia and continuing infringement of its sovereignty" could not be "swept under the carpet".
Earlier, Russia’s envoy to NATO defended the war against Georgia and said any new relationship with NATO would be on Moscow’s own terms. Some NATO members, like Germany and France, had long been pressing for the resumption of ties with Russia, arguing that their suspension has been counter-productive.
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