Azernews.Az

TEHRAN – Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met with his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov while both leaders are visiting Tehran, Voice of America reported.

In a statement released Sunday, Mr. Karzai's office said the two leaders discussed a project to transport gas to Pakistan and India through Afghanistan, a railway connecting Afghanistan to the rest of Central Asia and the possibility of Turkmenistan providing energy to Afghanistan.

President Berdymukhamedov also invited Mr. Karzai to the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, at the end of May.

The two presidents, along with leaders from 16 other countries, are in Iran to celebrate the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, The Nowruz festival began on March 21, the day of the vernal equinox.

On Saturday, Mr. Karzai met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. State-run Iranian media said the two leaders discussed the process of transferring responsibility for security in Afghanistan to Afghan forces. The Middle East situation also was reportedly on the agenda, along with the status of Afghan prisoners in Iran.

Mr. Ahmadinejad praised the Afghan delegation for attending the festivities, and said he believed that Afghanistan is fully capable of defending itself without outside interference.