Iran Warns Taliban on its Water Rights from Helmand River

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
TT

Iran Warns Taliban on its Water Rights from Helmand River

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned his counterpart in the Taliban that their relations would be affected if the group does not eliminate the hurdles to Tehran’s water rights from the Helmand River.

Amir Abdollahian made the comments during a phone conversation on Thursday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting Afghan foreign minister.

He said a high-ranking delegation from Iran's Ministry of Energy will visit Afghanistan to work on removing obstacles that prevent Iran from drawing water directly from the Helmand River.

Amir Abdollahian said that Kabul's decision to permit Tehran to use its water right would be an essential indicator of the Afghan government's adherence to its commitments to international law.

He pointed to the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan’s dependence on the river’s water, saying if the issue was not “expeditiously and seriously” resolved, it would have an adverse effect on the other areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The development of many hydroelectric projects on the river, most notably the Kamal Khan dam in Nimrouz province and the Kajaki dam located 160 kilometers northwest of Kandahar province, has exacerbated the situation.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi urged serious action on Iran's water rights.



Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
TT

Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ruling out talks with Ukraine, but guarantees will be needed to ensure the credibility of any negotiations, Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Sunday.

More than 90 countries took part in a two-day event at the Buergenstock resort in central Switzerland aimed at uniting global opinion on how to end Moscow's 27-month-old invasion.
Russia was not invited to those talks.

Kyiv's positions have been taken into consideration in the final communique for the summit, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday.

"The text is balanced, all of our principled positions on which Ukraine had insisted have been considered," he told reporters.

Kuleba also hinted that Russia could be involved in a future summit but dismissed Putin's demand on Friday that Kyiv cede four regions of Ukraine that Russia has occupied and drop its goal of joining NATO.