TEHRAN -- Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi says two decades of military presence by the U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan have no other result for the Afghan people than bloodshed and backwardness.
“The outcome of two decades of the U.S. and NATO presence in Afghanistan is murder, crime, bloodshed, and backwardness of Afghan people,” he told Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó here Thursday.
“More than 30,000 Afghan children are now grappling with various kinds of disabilities as a result of the Americans’ presence” in their country, Raisi said.
The president underscored the need for the Afghan people to rule their own country, stressing that Afghanistan must be run by an independent government.
“There are nearly four million Afghan migrants in Iran and they have been received warmly. Western countries have made many promises to help Afghan migrants but have not helped them in any way,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, President Raisi said cooperation between Iran and Hungary in the fight against terrorism, narcotics, and organized crimes will benefit of both the region and the world.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran fights terrorism in practice but some only give lip service to anti-terror fight,” he said.
For his part, Szijjártó said he believes the West and NATO acted hypocritically on the issue of Afghanistan, expressing concern about the massive influx of Afghan refugees.
The Hungarian minister said his country is working to improve the level of relations between Tehran and Budapest.
Earlier on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters after a meeting with Szijjártó that the two sides had signed five memorandums of understanding to boost cooperation in various fields.
“Three memorandums of understanding were signed this morning and two more were signed during the two countries’ joint economic commission meeting this afternoon,” Amir-Abdollahian said during a joint presser with Szijjártó.
Szijjártó said Hungary’s parliament on Tuesday ratified a bilateral investment protection agreement aimed at boosting cooperation between Hungarian and Iranian businesses.
Before their Thursday press conference, Szijjártó and Amir-Abdollahian signed agreements on cooperation between the two countries’ in such areas as customs, diplomatic education, culture, and the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program.