Moscow: India was among 10 countries that held talks with a Taliban delegation at the third Moscow Format consultations on Afghanistan at the President Hotel in the Russian capital on Wednesday.
The Indian delegation is led by J.P. Singh, Joint Secretary of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran desk in the Ministry of External Affairs. He was also the Indian representative in the talks in Doha on August 12 before the Taliban takeover of Kabul three days later.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the participants at the start of the meeting.
The Taliban delegation, which includes ten people including Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, is headed by Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Salam Hanafi.
At the meeting, Lavrov called on the Taliban to fulfill their promises that the country’s territory will not be used against third states and also for an inclusive government
“The task of achieving sustainable peace in Afghanistan is still urgent,” Lavrov said.
He said that prior to the Moscow Format consultations he held a meeting with a Taliban delegation, where they discussed in detail the need for a competent social policy and respect for human rights and freedoms.
“We call on the Taliban movement – and we talked about this with the distinguished delegation – to strictly follow the line of preventing anyone from using the territory of Afghanistan against third countries, primarily neighbours,”said Lavrov, opening the meeting of the Moscow Format.
Lavrov also called on the world community to provide financial and economic assistance to Afghanistan. Lavrov also confirmed that in the coming days Russia plans to send another batch of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Lavrov noted that the expectations placed on the past government of Afghanistan, headed by former President Ashraf Ghani, in the matter of national reconciliation did not come true. Now this responsibility falls on the Taliban, since the change of power in the country is already a fait accompli, he added.
The Foreign Minister also called on the world community to mobilize resources to help Afghanistan, including to prevent a crisis and stop migration flows.
The United States declined to participate in the talks citing logistical issues.
“We express our regret at the non-participation of our American colleagues this time in the event. We noticed that the United States has been avoiding a meeting within the extended troika of Russia, USA, China, Pakistan for the second time in a row,” Lavrov added.
He hoped that the US would be ready to continue working in this direction, and that new US Special Representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, would support the results of the meetings in Moscow. The diplomat said that the UN should play a central role in the settlement, while Russia plans to use its capabilities along the lines of the CSTO and SCO.
The Moscow consultations were launched in 2017 based on a six-party mechanism involving the special envoys of Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China and Pakistan.
The first round was held on April 14, 2017, and involved Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The main goal is to facilitate the national reconciliation process in Afghanistan and efforts to establish peace in the country as soon as possible.
UNI/RN
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