Tehran Urged to Support Afghan Peace Process

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has called on Iran to support peace talks with the Taliban during a phone call with President Hassan Rouhani on Monday.
Ghani pointed to the “constructive role” of Iran in upholding regional peace and stability, and welcomed its endorsement of the long overdue peace process, President.ir reported.
Afghanistan made a political breakthrough last month when Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal, under which Ghani conceded the right to appoint half of Cabinet members to his political rival Abdullah who will lead talks with the Taliban.
The end of political impasse will allow the resumption of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, which could conclude a war that has been going on for 19 years.  
During the phone call between Ghani and Rouhani, the Afghan president took note of close ties between the neighboring countries and added, “We hope to further improve relations and boost cooperation with the help of top officials in both nations.”
Rouhani expressed satisfaction with the settlement of the election dispute between Ghani and Abdullah, and said, “We believe conflicts between groups can be solved through talks and we will stand by the Afghan people and government on this road.”
The president added that he sees “peace and stability” in Kabul in line with peace and security in Iran.
“The policy of Iran is to foster relations with all neighboring countries especially Afghanistan,” Rouhani said.
Abdullah, now the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said on Saturday he is ready to begin peace talks with Taliban “at any moment”.
The US will significantly reduce its military presence in Afghanistan if an agreement is reached with Taliban.