A new meeting of the Moscow format on the Afghan peace settlement is scheduled to take place in Kazan, Russia, in late September. Zamir Kabulov, the Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Director of the Foreign Ministry's Second Asia Department, confirmed this on Monday to TASS.
Responding to a question, Kabulov stated, "At the end of September, in Kazan," indicating the timing and location of the upcoming meeting. He also mentioned that the Taliban, a banned group in Russia, has accepted the invitation to participate. All members of the Moscow format, including Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, will attend the meeting.
The previous meeting of the Moscow format on Afghanistan took place in November of the previous year. Since then, the Taliban has launched a major offensive to seize control of Afghanistan following the announcement of the US decision to withdraw its armed forces from the country in spring 2021. The radicals captured Kabul without resistance on August 15 of the same year and announced the composition of an interim government on September 7. However, the legitimacy of this government has not been recognized by any country thus far.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS