India and Russia will hold high-level bilateral discussions on Afghanistan in Delhi in the coming two weeks, and India will then decide on its participation in the Moscow format meetings on the issue, new Indian Ambassador to Russia D. Bala Venkatesh Varma told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2018) India and Russia will hold high-level bilateral discussions on Afghanistan in Delhi in the coming two weeks, and India will then decide on its participation in the Moscow format meetings on the issue, new Indian Ambassador to Russia D. Bala Venkatesh Varma told Sputnik.
"We are in constant touch with Russia on Afghan issue, and we expect some high-level bilateral discussions between India and Russia soon, within next two weeks ... We expect them to take place before the end of the year. It would be consultations between key people who deal with Afghanistan in the Russian and Indian foreign ministries. The meeting will take place in Delhi," the ambassador said.
India will "take a further view" on how it will take part in the next Moscow format meeting, he said.
Delhi participated in the previous Moscow format meeting as observer because its position, which implies the Afghan conflict settlement without external interference, is well known, and Moscow also shares this position, Varma recalled.
The decision against sending an official delegation for the November 9 meeting was also due to the absence of the Afghan government, he added.
"Since the Afghan government itself did not send an official delegation, India also thought it would be necessary that we should also send an non-official delegation," the ambassador explained.
The Afghan peace settlement is discussed at various venues, including in Geneva and Moscow. On November 9, the Russian capital hosted such a meeting. For the first time, the Doha-based Taliban political office took part in the international peace talks of such a level. The Afghan side was represented by the High Peace Council, backed by ex-president Hamid Karzai, however, Kabul stressed that it did not endorse the council. Russia's foreign minister called the meeting a step toward direct talks between the Taliban and Kabul.
