The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is expecting concrete proposals from Afghanistan with regard to securing cooperation, Secretary-General Vladimir Norov told Sputnik on Tuesday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2019) The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is expecting concrete proposals from Afghanistan with regard to securing cooperation, Secretary-General Vladimir Norov told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"In Tashkent, I and the head of Afghanistan's National Unity Government, Abdullah Abdullah, held a meeting during which I said that we were waiting for concrete proposals from the Afghan side," Norov said.
Asked about whether intra-Afghan peace talks under the auspices of the SCO were planned, the official said that "there were no such meetings" on the organization's agenda. He did mention that previous negotiations were held in Russia's Moscow, Qatar's Doha and Tashkent.
"I saw in the media that a similar meeting is planned in Beijing, but I have no official confirmation," Norov said, adding that "we do not have such meetings within the SCO-Afghanistan contact group, but joint activities with Afghanistan to battle terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking will be carried out."
According to the latest media reports, an inter-Afghan meeting with representatives of the Taliban movement may be held in Beijing on November 21.
Intra-Afghan talks are being called to untangle disagreements between the government and the Taliban, which has been struggling to achieve recognition since being overthrown almost two decades ago. Incumbent Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has repeatedly suggested pathways to recognizing the Taliban as a political party and engaging in peace talks, but the situation remains deadlocked.
The SCO is an intergovernmental organization comprising eight member states: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It also has four observer states � Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia �� while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey are the organization's dialogue partners.
