Kabul, March 10: Iran’s president on Wednesday criticised NATO troops as an obstacle to peace in Afghanistan during his visit to the war-torn country.
“We do not see the presence of foreign military forces in Afghanistan as a solution for peace in Afghanistan,” said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a joint news conference with Afghan president Hamid Karzai.
“Our policy is full support for the Afghan people and Afghan government and reconstruction of Afghanistan and we will continue this support in the future,” Ahmadinejad said.
His visit overlapped with one by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, in Afghanistan to review the surge of US and NATO troops set to bring their numbers to 150,000 by August.
Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called on US-led troops to leave Afghanistan, which has close ethnic and religious ties to Iran.
Asked about Gates’s accusation that Iran is playing a double game in the war-torn country, Ahmadinejad responded: “The question is what are you (Gates and troops) doing here in this region?”
“You are 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles) away on the other side of the world. You are on the other side of the world. What are you doing here? This is a serious question,” he added.
“They are playing a double game. They themselves created terrorists and says they want to fight against terrorism,” he said.
Despite their rivalry, Washington and Tehran are both enemies of the Taliban, which ruled in Kabul from 1996, before being overthrown in the 2001 US-led invasion.
“Iran has no role in Afghanistan’s insecurity but stands beside Afghanistan’s government and people for their security,” he said.
—Agencies