950820

Iranian deputy

FM in Kabul

KABUL: Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Alauddin Borujerdi arrived in Kabul on Sunday to discuss bilateral ties and regional security, a senior Iranian diplomat said.

Ghulam Hadadi said Borujerdi would also talk about possible strategies for ending Afghanistan's civil war.

"Our policy is to have continuous relations and contact with both the government and rival groups to find a comprehensive solution to the war here," the ambassador said.

Afghanistan's acting minister of state for foreign affairs, Najibullah Lafrai, was at Kabul Airport to welcome Borujerdi, who was also due to meet Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani and his top military commander Ahmad Shah Masood before leaving on Monday.

In January, Masood accused the opposition faction of the mainly Shi'ite Hezb-e-Wahdat party of receiving military and financial support from Iran. Pro-Rabbani forces drove the group out of its stronghold in southwestern Kabul in March.

The Afghan government has often accused unnamed regional countries of backing its military rivals.-Reuter