By DPA,
Kabul : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Kabul Wednesday for talks with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, a presidential spokesman said.
The Iranian leader was officially welcomed upon his arrival at the Kabul international airport by Afghan first Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim, according to the government-run TV.
It is Ahmadinejad’s first visit to Afghanistan since he and Karzai were re-elected in controversial elections last year.
Ahmadinejad was initially scheduled to visit Kabul Monday, but the trip was later postponed. It was not clear whether it was linked to the visit of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to Afghanistan Monday.
During his trip, Gates reportedly said that Iran was playing a “double game in Afghanistan”, by being friendly to the Kabul government while allegedly supporting the Taliban to undermine the US and NATO’s efforts in the country.
Tehran has maintained comparatively good relations with Kabul since the ouster of Taliban regime in late 2001, despite its repeated criticism of the presence of US and NATO troops that it believes is the key reason for the problems in Afghanistan.