It is not an appropriate time to speak about the date for the launch of the Afghan reconciliation process given the current circumstances, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Alexander Mantytskiy told Sputnik
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2018) It is not an appropriate time to speak about the date for the launch of the Afghan reconciliation process given the current circumstances, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Alexander Mantytskiy told Sputnik.
Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry's team headed by the ministry's Second Asian Department director, Zamir Kabulov, met with the Afghan delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Nasir Andisha. The parties discussed the settlement efforts.
"Under current circumstances it is not appropriate to speak about a specific date for the start of the talks and peace process," Mantytskiy said.
The ambassador went on to explain that the parties to the Afghan conflict were not fully ready for the start of the peace process.
"The government says that it would like to launch direct talks with the Taliban [Islamist movement] without any preconditions. However, the Taliban says that it considers the government to be a puppet and wants to launch a direct dialogue with its 'lord,' the United States. Their positions have not changed so far," Mantytskiy added.
In August, the consultations on Afghanistan in the Moscow format, initially scheduled for September 4, were postponed following a phone conversation between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The meeting was reportedly postponed over the reshuffle in the Afghan government.
Afghanistan has long been in a state of turmoil, with the government fighting the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) and the Taliban insurgency.
