Representatives of the new Afghan government from the Taliban movement have arrived in Moscow today, on October 20, along with delegates from ten other regional powers for consultations. The delegation is headed by the Deputy Head of the interim Afghan government, Abdul Salam Hanafi, and includes the Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The meeting takes place behind closed doors at the President Hotel.
The participants from the Russian side are the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, the country’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and others, Izvestia reports.
During the meeting, Moscow called on the Taliban movement to prevent the use of the territory of Afghanistan as a springboard for actions against neighbouring countries.
“We call on the Taliban movement […] strictly follow the line of preventing the use of the territory of Afghanistan by anyone against the interests of third countries, first of all, of course, against Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours,” Lavrov said.
Besides, the Russian Foreign Minister suggested that among the main causes of the existing instability are humanitarian problems, socio-economic and financial issues, as well as the lack of international recognition of the new authorities in Kabul. However, he noted that even though the country holds talks with the members of the Taliban movement, the Russian government is not considering a possibility of the official recognition of it, TASS reports.
“The official recognition is not being discussed and it has been stated publicly,” Lavrov stated.
He said that “like other countries that have influence in the region”, Russia maintains contacts with the Taliban and hopes the Taliban will keep its promises and take measures to ensure the inclusiveness of the Afghan government not only from the ethnic but also from the political point of view.
In addition, as Sputnik reports, Lavrov warned the Taliban to be ready to repel the attempts of terrorist groups, namely Daesh and al-Qaeda, to use the unstable situation in the country to their advantage.
“[These terrorist organisations] are once again trying to raise their heads making daring and bloody forays in various parts of [Afghanistan],” Lavrov said.
Ru-Main, 20.10.2021
Source: RT
