BERLIN, Jan 21: The United Nations should create an “international contact group” of world powers to end the Afghanistan war, Germany’s ruling Christian Democrat (CDU-CSU) party said on Tuesday.

Party vice-chairman Andreas Schockenhoff said the contact group should include Iran, German media reported.

In a policy paper for the German parliament, the party led by Chancellor Angela Merkel said it supported the creation of an “international contact group approved by the UN Security Council.”

The paper said it should include the five permanent UN Security Council members — the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia — as well as the European Union.

Any group should also include Afghanistan and Pakistan and other neighbours, the document said.

Iran was not expressly named in the paper, but German media quoted Schockenhoff as saying the CDU would welcome Iran’s participation.

“The group should aim to reach an international consensus...that the stability of Afghanistan should be an objective of the utmost importance,” the paper said, adding that weakening Al Qaeda is “a common interest”.—AFP