MOSCOW (AFP) — Afghanistan is a "very productive area" for engagement between Washington and arch foe Tehran, a US official said Friday at a meeting in Moscow aimed at curbing rising violence in the conflict-riven nation.
The meeting, led by the Shanghai Group comprising China, Russia and Central Asian states, came amid mounting international concern over the resurgence of the Taliban Islamist militants in Afghanistan.
"We see Iran as an important player related to Afghanistan. We see this as a very productive area for engagement in the future," the US official, who asked not to be named, said on the sidelines of the conference.
The United States and Iran have had no diplomatic ties for almost three decades but President Barack Obama in a message on March 20 offered to end the animosity, in a departure from the previous administration's tough line.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhonzadeh, who was leading the delegation from Tehran, reaffirmed his government's line that Washington needed to change its policies before changes could take place.
"The United States should change its attitude and it should be measurable. It can use rhetoric but those changes must be felt. There is need for real change that can be measured," he told AFP.
Obama Friday unveiled a new offensive against terror havens in Afghanistan, promising 4,000 extra troops to train the Afghan army and hundreds more civilian experts, as well as financial aid to Pakistan.
The Moscow meeting is also being attended by UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Shanghai Group observers, NATO officials, delegates from Afghanistan and Iran as well as representatives of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries.
The United States sent Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon to the conference but he did not meet Iranian delegates.
The meeting comes ahead of another international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague on March 31, due to be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top diplomats.
In a final declaration, the Moscow meeting's participants emphasized "the need for sustained international support to strengthen Afghan security institutions to effectively combat the scourges of terrorism and production and trafficking of narcotics."
They called for the provision of "alternative means of livelihood" for Afghan farmers other than narcotics production.
Meanwhile the US official also declared that Kyrgyzstan has invited the United States to discuss retaining the Manas air base outside Bishkek that serves as a key supply route to Afghanistan, in an apparent change of view.
Kyrgyzstan on February 20 officially set in motion the process for closing the airbase by handing the United States a 180-day notice to quit.
"We've agreed to enter into discussions with the Kyrgyz at their invitation on the possibility of the agreement (on the air base remaining in force)," the official said in Moscow.
The base is a vital support post for US and NATO operations, as it is used for ferrying tens of thousands of troops in and out of Afghanistan each year and also hosts planes used for mid-air refuelling of combat aircraft.
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev said on Thursday after talks in Moscow that Bishkek was not reconsidering its decision to close the US airbase.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in his opening address that Russia was prepared to expand its cooperation with the Western military alliance NATO.
Moscow has already allowed the transit of non-lethal goods through its territory, in a boost to Western forces disappointed by Bishkek's decision.
"We are ready to examine other kinds of constructive cooperation," he said.
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