MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2020) The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states closely follow the developments in Afghanistan and believe that all the sides to the conflict should engage in the peace process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
"We, of course, closely follow the developments in Afghanistan. Russia, China and other SCO members have been actively assisting in creating conditions for direct and inclusive intra-Afgan talks to take place sooner," Lavrov told reporters after the meeting of the SCO foreign ministers.
The Russian top diplomat noted that Moscow had hosted Afghan peace talks and multilateral negotiations multiple times over the past years.
"Dates for the talks due in Doha have been announced and later postponed multiple times. We believe that the reason is that this political process cannot be artificially accelerated to benefit someone's geopolitical or domestic interests. Unfortunately, we see such attempts, and they are not helping to create a stable basis for the intra-Afghan political process," Lavrov said.
The minister noted that the Afghan government intended to limit the number of social, political and ethnic groups that could participate in such talks. Lavrov expressed the belief it was not helpful either.
"We, member states of the SCO, share the view that all Afghan parties should be included in the future political process and no one should be artificially excluded," Lavrov said.
