No Plan To Meet Taliban On St. Petersburg Forum Sidelines, Says Russian Official

Biden has stated this in a letter to the US Congress on Friday.

Following the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, the activities and expansion of terrorist groups in this country have raised concerns among regional and global countries.

However, US officials have repeatedly emphasised that the country is capable of addressing potential threats emanating from Afghanistan without being present in the country.

In this letter, the US president annually reports to Congress on the "Authorisation for the Use of Military Force," the situation in war-torn countries, the United States' position, and its forces' presence in these countries.

Biden has stated that the United States will continue its counterterrorism efforts worldwide.

The letter addresses operations and the deployment of US forces in various countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and some other countries.

The President of the United States has emphasised that the US will continue to combat terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda in various regions worldwide.

Biden also said that he ordered attacks on IRGC facilities in Iraq in December of last year and January and February of this year.

Representatives from Iran, Russia, China, and Pakistan are attending this meeting.

The Taliban said that they were invited to this meeting, but did not participate.

The Islamic Republic of Iran said that this is the second meeting of the "Regional Contact Group on Afghanistan”.

ISNA reported that at the end of this meeting, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's special representative for Afghanistan, will explain its results in a press conference.

Zakir Jalali, an official from the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on his X social media platform on Saturday that the group was invited to a meeting in Tehran regarding Afghanistan, but will not participate.

He said that the Taliban expects meetings about Afghanistan to be held "through usual and established mechanisms”.

Jalali noted that representatives from Russia, Iran, and China have referred to this meeting by different names.

He explained, Iran calls this meeting the "Regional Contact Group," Russia refers to it as the "Moscow Format Contact Group Meeting," and China, which had opposed the "International Contact Group" for Afghanistan in the UN Security Council, considers the Tehran meeting as an opportunity for consultation.

He mentioned that the Taliban expects meetings about Afghanistan to be held "through usual and established mechanisms”.

This meeting is scheduled to take place today in Tehran, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Jalali noted that representatives from Russia, Iran, and China have referred to this meeting by different names.

He explained, Iran calls this meeting the "Regional Contact Group," Russia refers to it as the "Moscow Format Contact Group Meeting," and China, which had opposed the "International Contact Group" for Afghanistan in the UN Security Council, considers the Tehran meeting as an opportunity for consultation.

His reference is to the statement by Zamir Kabulov, Russia's representative for Afghanistan, who called this meeting the "Moscow Format Contact Group”.

Rasoul Mousavi, General Director of the Iranian Foreign Ministry's West Asia Department, referred to the meeting as the "Regional Contact Group" in a post on X social media platform.

Pakistan and China, whose representatives will be attending, have welcomed the meeting.

Although none of these countries had previously mentioned inviting the Taliban, Jalali claims the group was invited.

On Saturday, Jalali posted on X that the Taliban "expects that meetings concerning Afghanistan should use usual and established mechanisms instead of forming new ones”.

He also mentioned, without providing details, that the Taliban has had consultations with "relevant parties" regarding the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan.

The third Doha meeting, with the participation of representatives from various countries, will be held on June 30 and July 1.

Omari stated that the Taliban is waiting for its name to be removed from Russia's list of terrorist organisations.

On Friday, he told Russia's TASS news agency that removing the group's name from Russia's blacklist of terrorist organisations would be a step forward.

Previously, the Russian Foreign Minister had announced that Moscow is considering removing the Taliban from this list. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also stated that establishing relations with the Taliban is necessary.

Omari, who traveled to Russia to attend the 27th St. Petersburg Economic Forum, told TASS news agency that relations with Moscow are based on mutual interests.

This political movement emphasised that participants in the Tehran meeting should consider the opinions of all Afghan politicians.

The second meeting of the Contact Group within the Moscow Format, with representatives from Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia, will be held in Tehran on Saturday.

The third Doha meeting, hosted by the United Nations with special representatives from various countries on Afghan affairs, is scheduled for June 30 and July 1.

On Friday, Jalil Shams, the head of this movement, referencing the Moscow Format meeting in Tehran and the third Doha meeting, wrote that increasing poverty, deprivation, human rights violations, the spread of extremism among young people, and the lack of necessary actions against foreign militant groups have exacerbated instability in Afghanistan and beyond.

Shams stated that participants in the Tehran and Doha meetings should align their diplomatic efforts with the United Nations Security Council resolution.

The United Nations Security Council had asked the Secretary-General to appoint a special representative for peace in Afghanistan.

Several former government officials, including Hanif Atmar, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Masoom Stanekzai, former chief negotiator, and several other politicians, are members of the Afghanistan National Movement for Peace and Justice. This movement was established in 2022.

It stated that the Taliban must adhere to international commitments regarding peace, security, human rights, especially the rights of women, girls, and ethnic and religious minorities.

The movement emphasised that participants in these two meetings should consider the UN special coordinator for Afghanistan Feridun Sinirlioğlu's evaluation of intra-Afghan dialogues as a suitable path for ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The letter mentioned that the Doha meeting is currently the only international process concerning Afghanistan.

The head of the National Movement for Peace and Justice stressed that deviating from the UN Security Council resolution on Afghanistan would have negative and irreparable consequences.

The movement criticised the exclusion of Afghan politicians and civil society representatives from meetings related to Afghanistan, especially the Doha meeting and the Moscow Format.

According to this movement, excluding these groups from political processes will hinder achieving a final and desirable situation in Afghanistan.

This political movement suggested that for the participation of Afghan stakeholders in these meetings, separate sessions with both opposing sides should be held with an agenda, and the process should continue until the ground for intra-Afghan dialogues is prepared.