TEHRAN - Noting that the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia were moving toward Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s deputy foreign minister said it could have “negative repercussions” for the war-torn country.

Speaking at an event in Kabul, Hekmat Khalil Karzai said there is a need for a consensus on Afghanistan among world powers and countries in the region.

“The tensions are slowly moving from Ukraine toward Afghanistan. It will be a bad situation for Afghanistan when the tensions officially begin in Afghanistan,” said the minister, adding that the goal should be to strengthen the consensus that Afghanistan’s stability is important for Russia and U.S.

On the question of Pakistan’s support for Afghan peace process, Karzai, who has been an integral part of peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban, said Afghanistan should not expect Pakistan to help the Afghan peace process.

According to him, Kabul should not expect Beijing to put pressure on Pakistan to help the Afghan peace process, terming it “improper”.

“We should not expect China to put pressure on Pakistan ‘automatically’, because such an expectation is improper. We should recognize China’s benefits (for us). China has invested $48 billion in CPEC (China–Pakistan Economic Corridor) only. How much it has invested in Afghanistan? What is the difference between China’s benefit in Afghanistan and Pakistan? We should recognize this,” said Karzai.