The terrorist group IS ("Islamic State", banned in the Russian Federation) is trying to use the ongoing armed confrontation in Afghanistan to strengthen its position in the republic. This was announced on Thursday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, opening a meeting of the expanded "troika" on the settlement in Afghanistan.
"There is an increase in casualties on both sides [in Afghanistan], and civilians continue to die," he said. - "It is particularly worrying that radical terrorist groups, primarily the Islamic State, are trying to take advantage of this situation to strengthen their positions on the ground". According to our assessment, the IS has not given up trying to dig deeper in the Afghan north, in order to project its plans on the Central Asian region."
"All this creates prerequisites for the further prosperity of the drug business, which poses a serious challenge to Afghanistan, the region and the whole world and feeds to a large extent terrorist activity," the minister added.
US peace deal with militants
Moscow calls on Washington and representatives of the Taliban movement (banned in Russia) to remain committed to the peace agreement, which was signed by the parties in Doha in February last year, Lavrov said.
He noted that the format of the "troika" - Russia, China, the United States, to which Pakistan was later added-was conceived with the aim of creating favorable conditions for launching inter-Afghan peace talks and "consolidating international assistance to Afghanistan at the post-conflict stage."
"Starting in 2019, this mechanism has played a tangible positive role in facilitating negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, which culminated in the signing of an agreement on February 29, 2020. We call on both sides to remain committed to the provisions of this document, supported by UN Security Council Resolution 2513, " the minister said.
On February 29, 2020, the previous US administration and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha. The United States, its allies and the coalition have pledged to withdraw all troops from the country within 14 months. The Taliban guaranteed that they would not use the territory of Afghanistan for actions that pose a threat to the security of the United States and its allies. The subsequent meetings between the Taliban and representatives of the Government of Afghanistan have not yet even led to the development of an agenda for peace talks and have reached an impasse.
The meeting of the expanded "troika" on the issue of a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan at the level of special representatives is being held on Thursday in Moscow. The meeting is attended by representatives of the Afghan authorities and the Taliban. In addition, representatives of Qatar were invited to the consultations.
Delays in negotiations
According to the minister, delays in the negotiations on a peaceful settlement are unacceptable in the conditions of the deteriorating military-political situation in the country.
"We are convinced that in the conditions of the deteriorating military-political situation, further delays are unacceptable. The situation is of increasing concern against the background of the approaching spring-summer period, when there is traditionally increased combat activity, " he continued.
The Russian Foreign Minister expressed gratitude to Qatar for promoting national reconciliation in Afghanistan and expressed regret that the efforts made in Doha have not yet yielded positive results.
"We hope that today's conversation will contribute to creating conditions for achieving progress in the inter - Afghan negotiations," Lavrov said.
Support from Russia
According to Lavrov, Afghanistan can count on Russia's support in finding ways to end the armed conflict and establish a lasting peace in the country.
"Russia will continue to provide all-round assistance to friendly Afghanistan, to contribute to the implementation of measures aimed at ending the long - standing armed conflict and establishing a lasting peace in this country," he said. "We call on the warring parties to reduce the level of violence on the ground."
He called for flexibility at the negotiating table and a willingness to make concessions, as well as a refusal to put forward obviously unacceptable conditions. "Only in this way can we bring our approaches closer and reach solutions on fundamental issues," he stressed. "Actually, this is the meaning of our meeting today."
According to the minister, Russia is in favor of combining the efforts of the expanded troika with the work of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan. "This is, admittedly, a very popular mechanism that unites all of Afghanistan's neighbors, key countries of the region, as well as the United States, without exception," he explained. - "It was within the framework of the Moscow format in November 2018 that representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban movement for the first time officially gathered at the same negotiating table in the presence of delegations from more than 10 countries. If necessary, we are ready to organize another meeting of this forum."
Lavrov also recalled that in February and May 2019, meetings of the "Inter-Afghan Dialogue" were held in Moscow, which were held on the initiative and with the direct participation of the diaspora of Afghans living in the Russian Federation, the CIS countries, Europe and Asia. "It was then that influential Afghan politicians, the leadership of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation and representatives of the Taliban movement practically laid the foundation for the launch of the inter - Afghan peace process," he stated, noting that in Moscow, for the first time, representatives of the female part of the Afghan political elite sat down at the same table with the Taliban.
New agreement
Lavrov said that Russia calls for signing an agreement that would meet the interests of all parties in Afghanistan.
"The Afghan parties interested in national reconciliation can achieve peace only through negotiations and compromise. It is important to sign an agreement that would meet the interests of all the key ethno - political forces of the countries and determine the vector of further development," he said.
As the minister pointed out, external players, despite the importance of their role, should create the necessary conditions for the Afghans to negotiate themselves. "I hope that the participants of today's meeting will be able to make significant progress in this direction," Lavrov concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS