The G5 format for settling the conflict in Afghanistan with the participation of Russia, India, Iran, China, and Pakistan has not advanced yet due to Islamabad's objections to New Delhi's participation. Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Director of the Second Asia Department of the Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov told TASS on Monday.
"No, there has been no progress so far [on this issue] because of the position of Pakistan, which is against India's participation at this stage. So there is no development yet," he said in response to a related question.
"We have many activities related to Afghanistan in the near future [planned]," Kabulov added. - "On April 13, a ministerial meeting of Afghanistan's neighboring countries and Russia will be held in Samarkand, where Afghanistan will be discussed." According to the diplomat, expectations from this meeting are very high. "But we'll wait and see, and let's not get ahead of ourselves," the special presidential envoy added.
Answering whether a meeting of the Moscow format on Afghanistan is planned, Kabulov said: "Not yet planned."
Earlier, in an interview with India's The Week magazine, the special presidential representative said that Russia proposes creating a basic, five-sided format for a settlement in Afghanistan with the participation of Russia, India, Iran, China, and Pakistan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Akishin Vyacheslav/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS