By IRNA,
London : The British Foreign Office says it has long been the plan to include Iran in Conference on Afghanistan in London, given that Iran is a neighbour of Afghanistan and has an interest in the development of its stability and security.
Barry Marston, the British Foreign Office spokesman, told IRNA that Tehran has been welcome in preparing the draft of the final statement of the London conference slated for this Thursday.
“…We have also decided to include them [Iran] in the preparatory drafting circle. In effect this means inviting an Iranian official to join the drafting sessions.”
Marston made the comment after the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Tehran will not participate in the upcoming conference in London should its considerations are not incorporated into the final statement of the conference.
Marston said there are a “very wide range of international parties” involved in the London conference, adding, however, that the British government is “seeking to accommodate the reasonable proposals we receive within the timeframe in which we are working”.
“It is for Iran alone to decide whether it wants to play a constructive role in Afghanistan’s future alongside around 70 other international delegations,” he said.
The Conference on Afghanistan is due to be held in London. The British government had earlier announced that a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops would be sketched in this conference.
Some countries and anti-war organisiations have cast doubt on the success of the Conference in London. They believe that the main goal of the British government in holding this conference is to exploit it for party and political purposes — an accusation the British Foreign Office denies.
More than 70 percent of the British public opinion, according to the latest surveys, believe that continuation of the war in Afghanistan is not acceptable and the British government should withdraw troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year.
Some 251 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan so far, resulting in growing opposition to the war and declining popularity of the ruling Labour Party.
A public opinion last week suggested that the Conservatives are ahead of the Labours followed by the Liberal Democrats. Some 42 per cent of the British people are supporting the Conservative Party while only 29 are in favour of the Labour.