Russia stands for a political settlement in Afghanistan with the participation of the government and representatives of the Taliban movement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday
BISHKEK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2019) Russia stands for a political settlement in Afghanistan with the participation of the government and representatives of the Taliban movement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
"Russia actively supports the establishment of Afghan dialogue with the participation of both the government and the Taliban movement, since Taliban is a part of Afghan society, and this fact cannot be avoided," Lavrov said at a press conference in Bishkek.
Lavrov pointed out that at Monday's talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart, the ministers confirmed the relevance of the so-called Moscow format on Afghanistan.
The minister stressed that representatives of the United States are regularly invited to such meetings, but "they prefer a narrower format."
"The Moscow format is unique in this regard as it comprises all countries that in one way or another can influence various political forces in Afghanistan and, of course, Afghanistan itself participates in the Moscow format talks," Lavrov said.
According to Lavrov, all sides recognize that the dialogue between the Afghan government and Taliban is inevitable.
"But some countries, in particular the United States, are trying to dominate this dialogue and conduct it behind the scenes. In particular, they [US officials] met with Taliban representatives in Qatar. And thus countries of the region that are not indifferent to what will happen to Afghanistan simply remain unaware of what plans our US partners have," Lavrov stressed.
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. Lavrov called the meeting a step toward direct talks between the Taliban and Kabul.
Afghanistan has long been in a state of turmoil, with the government fighting the Taliban radical movement, which has been holding vast territories in rural areas under its control and regularly launches offensives in key big cities. The situation has been exacerbated by the activities of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia), which has been operating in Afghanistan since 2015.
