TEHRAN – On the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the foreign ministers of China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran held a meeting on Afghanistan and released a joint statement on September 25.

The joint statement stresses the principle that the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan must be respected and opposed reestablishment of any foreign military bases in or around Afghanistan.

The Afghan government issued a statement on September 21 saying it firmly rejects recent U.S. calls to reclaim the air base. It urged Washington to honor its pledge to the 2020 Doha Agreement that there would be no military interference.

The deputy spokesman of the Afghan administration, Hamdullah Fitrat, posted the statement on his X account, highlighting Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity remain paramount in all bilateral engagements, particularly with the U.S., China Daily reported.

According to the Pakistani Dawn newspaper, Fitrat welcomed the stance of the four countries and said that “Afghanistan will not allow its territory to be used against other countries, nor permit armed groups to operate from its soil.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also told reporters on Sept. 26 that China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan have opposed any move to reestablish U.S. military bases in the war-torn Afghanistan.

Built by the Soviets in the 1950s, the air base became vital during the Cold War and the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-89). After 2001, it became the operational hub of U.S. forces during its invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks. 

About 800 kilometers from China, Bagram, located in Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan, was the site of the largest military U.S. military base during its two-decade of war against the Taliban. 

The dispute began after U.S. President Donald Trump announced on September 18 that Washington is “trying” to retake the Bagram airfield back from the Taliban government after abandoning it more than four years ago.

“We’re trying to get it back,” he said during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Politico reported. Trump added that it’s “about an hour away from where China is developing its nuclear weapons.”

The wayward Trump has blamed Joe Biden for abandoning the air base. But the deal the first Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban in February 2020 paved the way for America’s departure and did not mention the base. It established a ceasefire between U.S. and Taliban forces pending a full withdrawal of American troops in 14 months.

Bill Roggio, an American commentator on military affairs, says China and the Taliban will never allow the U.S. to retake Bagram despite comments from Trump.

"First of all, the Taliban will never accept the return to the U.S. I'd sooner…believe the Taliban would give up on its Sharia or Islamic law before I’d believe that it would let the U.S. return," Roggio told Fox News Digital.

"But let's say the Trump administration could convince the Taliban to consider allowing the U.S. to return to Bagram," he continued. "The Chinese would come down hard."

Roggio explained that China and Russia have a vested interest in the U.S. staying out of the region.

It is noticeable that after the American exit from Afghanistan, China has become the largest foreign investor in Afghanistan, with programs vested on the country’s mineral wealth, energy reserves, and other resources. Apart from China, Iran, Turkey and Uzbekistan lead in mining investments in Afghanistan.

The announcement by Trump to get back Bagram airfield is not only shocking but also delusional. 

Such an ill-considered announcement is a nightmare for the American people, who, after 20 years of war, immense financial costs, thousands of lives lost, and tens of thousands wounded, were compelled to accept a humiliating withdrawal.

The deadly attack on the Bagram airbase is still fresh in minds, as on November 12, 2016, a suicide bomber killed four Americans (two U.S. soldiers and two American contractors) inside Bagram airbase and wounded 16 American servicemen and one Polish soldier. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

It was Trump’s foreign secretary Mike Pompeo who negotiated the withdrawal plan through a mediation by Qatar in February 2020. Even the democratically elected Afghan government was excluded from the talks.

Delusional Trump has blamed President Biden for the loss of the airbase. But Biden inherited the agreement.

Trump mistakenly believes that by retaking the air base, the U.S. could oversee China’s Belt and Road project and its nuclear program in Xinjiang.