Russia to invite Taliban representatives to Moscow-format meeting on Afghan peace
Russia will invite Taliban representatives to Moscow-format meeting on Afghanistan peace. Zamir Kabulov, Russian President’s special envoy for Afghanistan, informed Kommersant newspaper about this. Representatives of Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan take part in the Moscow format. Kabulov noted that an attempt to launch inter-Afghan talks would take place at the end of this summer. According to him, the organizers of the meeting want it to be the beginning of real positive progress, and they will only happen when Taliban begin to talk directly with the Afghan government or a wider spectrum of the Afghan establishment. “If we do not invite Taliban, then the dialogue will not take place,” Kabulov said. “Therefore, we, of course, expect that the Taliban will respond positively to such an offer and will join the meeting.” It should be noted that Turkmenistan has long proposed to involve Taliban in the negotiation process, since, according to Ashgabat, the talks will give a positive result only if all parties of the conflict to sit at the negotiating table. Ignoring one of the parties will not allow establishing stable peace for the long term. Moreover, Turkmenistan was one of the first who stated that the attempts to solve the Afghan problem with the mean of military force is hopeless. Ashgabat stands for the solution of the inter-Afghan conflict only through political and diplomatic ways. In addition, the position of the Turkmen side stipulates that the negotiation process for Afghanistan should be accompanied by assistance to the country in restoring the economic and social infrastructure. Thus, in Ashgabat’s opinion, the country’s involvement in the implementation of large infrastructure projects of regional importance will contribute to peace in Afghanistan. That is why the Turkmen side initiated the construction of the TAPI Gas pipeline, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway, the power transmission and the fiber optic lines, as well as a number of other projects.
