Tehran, IRNA - The fifth meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan has stressed the importance of preventing the United States from returning to the war-torn country, an Iranian official said.

“At the Moscow format meeting in Kazan, Russia, while referring to the destructive role of the United States, I emphasized on regional initiatives and the formation of a regional contact group, something that was agreed upon by all representatives as the fundamental solution,” Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, said in a social media post on Saturday.

He said there was a consensus among participants in the Moscow meeting on the need to prevent the United States from returning to Afghanistan and holding it accountable for the devastation it caused during its 20-year-long occupation of the country.

The Moscow format for Afghanistan includes Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The fifth regional conference was held in the Russian city of Kazan on Friday.

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