Russia has received an official invitation to participate in the upcoming international conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul, the Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Director of the Second Asia Department of the Foreign Ministry, Zamir Kabulov, told TASS on Tuesday.
"We received [the invitation]," he said.
Kabulov also said that the postponement of the conference was expected; without a common agenda, it would be pointless to hold it.
"This is expected, frankly, because we see that so far the positions of the Taliban Movement (banned in Russia - TASS) and the broader Kabul side, which includes the government, the High Peace Council, and individual politicians, do not coincide. Under these conditions, without some kind of common coordinated agenda, of course, holding such an event would look senseless," he said.
The conference on peaceful settlement in Afghanistan was scheduled for April 24-May 4 in Istanbul. Representatives of Afghanistan and the Taliban, representatives of more than 20 countries and international organizations were invited to attend the conference. For their part, the Taliban announced their refusal to participate in this meeting until all foreign forces have left the country. According to Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the movement's Qatari political office, the Taliban are demanding that Washington fulfill its commitment to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, which it made a year ago under the Doha agreement.
Qatari television channel Al Jazeera reported Tuesday, citing a source, that the conference was postponed to a later date due to the Taliban's refusal to attend.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from TASS