Iran tension must not hurt Afghan ties, U.N. says

KABUL, Apr 27 (Reuters) Tension between the West and Iran over its nuclear programme must not damage relations between Iran and the Western-backed government of Afghanistan, the United Nations said today.

Tom Koenigs, the UN secretary-general's representative in Afghanistan, said good relations with its neighbours, especially Iran and Pakistan, were vital.

''International tension must not affect, or contaminate, the good relations Afghanistan has with Iran,'' Koenigs told a news conference.

Iran is under pressure from the United States and other Western countries to freeze its uranium enrichment programme and provide the International Atomic Energy Agency with answers about its past nuclear activities.

The West believes Tehran is secretly producing atomic weapons.

Iran says its programme is aimed solely at generating electricity but refuses to abandon nuclear enrichment activities that could enable it to produce fuel for atomic weapons.

The United States is Afghanistan's most important ally.

More than 19,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, which shares a border with Iran, fighting Taliban and other militants and hunting for their leaders.

But despite the international tension over Iran, Koenigs said Afghanistan could not turn its back on a neighbour.

''Afghanistan cannot and must not isolate itself from one of its close neighbours,'' he said.

''There is a multitude of links between Afghanistan and Iran and there are a lot of fields of further cooperation in trade and investment, and also in the matter of refugees.'' He said he had already visited Afghanistan's eastern neighbour, Pakistan, and would soon visit Iran to stress the need for cooperation.

''In an economy which is so dependent of foreign aid, foreign trade and foreign money, it's obvious that Afghanistan depends on good relations with the region,'' he said.

''Now is the time for building bridges,'' he said.

Afghanistan has also said it wanted to maintain good relations with Iran, while at the same time developing its special relationship with the United States.

Koenigs said Afghanistan and Pakistan also had much to gain from better relations, and they should work together to face the common threat from the Taliban and other militants on their border.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan deteriorated in recent months, after fresh Afghan complaints that Taliban insurgents were were plotting and launching attacks from the safety of Pakistani territory.

Pakistan, which is also fighting Taliban- and al-Qaeda-linked militants on its side of the border, rejected the accusations.

Koenigs said neither side had anything to gain from a war or words.

''The government of Pakistan is aware that they have to prevent the Talibanisation of Afghanistan and Pakistan,'' he said.

''The security situation in the region is so interlinked that it is worthwhile not to blame each other but to cooperate.'' REUTERS CH VV1624