Moscow has not yet seen an official statement about the postponement of the Afghanistan conference in Istanbul, Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told Sputnik on Tuesday, adding that the delay, if confirmed, was expected as there are great differences among the participants of the event
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2021) Moscow has not yet seen an official statement about the postponement of the Afghanistan conference in Istanbul, Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told Sputnik on Tuesday, adding that the delay, if confirmed, was expected as there are great differences among the participants of the event.
Al Jazeera has reported, citing a source from Afghanistan's High Commission for National Reconciliation, that the Istanbul conference is postponed to a later dated due to the Taliban movement's refusal to attend the event.
Kabulov told Sputnik earlier that Moscow received an official invitation to the conference but "have not yet seen the official announcement of the Turkish authorities" about its postponement.
"But, apparently, this is true and, in general, expected. We closely followed the preparations for this event, and it was clear that the differences between all the negotiating Afghan parties were still too great. There is no common agenda agreed upon, and without this, there is no point in a meeting. Apparently, it will take some more time to complete the preparatory work and then we'll see," Kabulov said.
Moreover, the Russian diplomat said that he "hopes" the Taliban movement will participate in the Istanbul conference.
"They have an absolutely justified position: the Americans signed an agreement with them, which the Americans do not fulfill. Therefore, they reacted as expected," Kabulov said.
