In the final statement of the quadrilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia, China, and Pakistan on the situation in the country, which was held on the sidelines of the 80th High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly, the four sides emphasized respect for the national sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and firmly opposed the re-establishment of military bases inside or around the country by the United States and its allies.
The statement, issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that NATO members should take primary responsibility for the current situation in Afghanistan and create opportunities for its economic recovery and future development and prosperity; they should immediately lift sanctions against Afghanistan and return the country’s frozen foreign assets to the Afghan people.
The meeting, the fourth round of the regional quadrilateral format, was attended by Sergey Lavrov (Russia), Wang Yi (China), Abbas Araghchi (Iran), and Ishaq Dar (Pakistan), and focused on shared concerns including terrorist threats, the humanitarian crisis, and the return of Afghan refugees.
