MOSCOW, Russia – The Afghan government has not yet responded to Russia’s invitation to take part in peace talks on Afghanistan that will include the Taliban, the TASS news agency quoted Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Thursday.
Russia has invited 12 countries, including the United States, to international peace talks in Moscow on Sept. 4 as it has been taking on a more prominent role in Afghanistan.
The United States has declined Russia’s invitation, while the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said the Afghan government will not participate in the upcoming peace meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow next month by saying that Afghan government firmly believes in intra-Afghan dialogues.
The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s statement said that the conference is set to facilitate the national reconciliation process in Afghanistan and securing peace in that country “as soon as possible”.
“The aim of the upcoming meeting is to help narrow the gaps in the approaches taken by the Afghan government and the Taliban to launching a direct intra-Afghan dialogue,” the statement said.
In the statement, it was mentioned that unlike its previous round, the meeting will be co-chaired by both Russia and Afghanistan.
However, Sebghat Ahmadi, Spokesman of Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the Afghan government will not take part in the Moscow meeting, insisting that the peace process should be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led.
“We have made the issue clear that peace process should be Afghan-owned. Any event which is taking place on Afghanistan in the region and world or the event which is expected to discuss Afghanistan should be in the axis of Afghanistan,” he said.
However, a former Taliban political figure Sayed Akbar Agha said Taliban will attend the meeting and will start discussions on the prospects of peace in Afghanistan with countries in the region.
“Taliban has agreed on the Moscow talks and they will attend it. These talks are related to Asia. Foreign forces have come to Asian countries and there are concerns among these countries about it. All these countries want foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan,” he said.
