The meeting, led by the Shanghai Group which groups China, Russia and Central Asian states, came amid mounting international concerns over the resurgence of the Taliban Islamist militants in the country.

"We see Iran as an important player related to Afghanistan. We see this as a very productive area for engagement in the future," the US official, who asked not to be named, said on the sidelines of the conference.

The United States and Iran have had no diplomatic ties for almost three decades but President Barack Obama in a message on March 20 offered to end the animosity, in a departure from the previous administration's tough line.

Obama was Friday to unveil a new offensive against terror havens in Afghanistan, by dispatching 4,000 extra troops to train the Afghan army and sending in hundreds more civilians.

The Moscow meeting is also being attended by Shanghai Group observers, NATO officials, delegates from Afghanistan and Iran as well as representatives of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries.

The United States has sent Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon to the conference but there appeared little chance he could meet Iranian delegates.

"Such a meeting is not on the agenda," Iran's ambassador to Russia Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

The meeting comes ahead of another international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague on March 31, due to be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top diplomats.

Iran said on Thursday it would also attend the Hague conference, in a signal it is ready to help the new US administration restore stability to its eastern neighbour.

Meanwhile the US official also declared that Kyrgyzstan has invited the United States to discuss retaining the Manas air base outside Bishkek that serves as a key supply route to Afghanistan, in an apparent change of view.

Kyrgyzstan on February 20 officially set in motion the process for closing the airbase at Manas, outside the Kyrgyz capital, by handing the United States a 180-day notice to leave the base.

"We've agreed to enter into discussions with the Kyrgyz at their invitation on the possibility of the agreement (on the air base remaining in force)," the official said in Moscow.

The base is a vital support post for US and NATO operations, as it is used for ferrying tens of thousands of troops in and out of Afghanistan each year and also hosts planes used for mid-air refuelling of combat craft.

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev said on Thursday after talks in Moscow that Kyrgyzstan was not reconsidering its decision to close the US airbase.

"The story is not over yet," said the US official. "But the United States has other options too. It is not going to seriously affect our ability to supply our forces in Afghanistan."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in his opening address that Russia was prepared to expand its cooperation with the Western military alliance NATO.

Moscow has already allowed the transit of non-lethal goods through its territory.

"We are ready to examine other kinds of constructive cooperation," he said

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, warned the security situation in Afghanistan was continuing to deteriorate.

"It is particularly troubling that terrorists are practically controlling a number of areas in Afghanistan and have formed parallel power centres," he said.

Lavrov said the main aim of the conference was to draw up a declaration with a concrete action plan for helping Afghanistan. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is also attending.

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