Moscow Format Meet Begins With Focus on Afghanistan
The Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan started on Friday in Kazan city of Russia.
The Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan started on Friday in Kazan city of Russia.
Rustam Minnikhanov, president of Tatarstan, was the first speaker at the meeting. Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister, is also one of the guests present for the Moscow Format meeting this year.
The current situation and the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan is one of the major topics to be discussed during the Moscow Format meet.
Representatives from Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are participating in the meeting.
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatari, and Turkish representatives have also been invited as observers to this year’s Moscow Format.
Earlier, the Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan had warned against the "unilateral" inclusion of the Taliban in this meeting.
In a statement, it demanded the presence of all parties from Afghanistan at the Moscow Format.
On the other hand, Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, stated that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has no plans to meet with the Taliban delegation.
He added, "The Russian Foreign Minister did not invite the Taliban delegation to participate in the Moscow format meeting, I did."
The Russian Foreign Minister bears no obligations towards "the guests I have personally invited”, said Kabulov.
The Russian representative stated, "I want to emphasise that the Taliban are not participants, but guests of the Moscow format meeting. There is a fundamental difference between the two," he said.
