Russia favors nationwide dialogue among all opposing groups in Afghanistan amid reports of resistance to the Taliban (banned in Russia) in Panjshir, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Thursday.
The Russian foreign minister pointed out that the Taliban do not yet control the entire territory of Afghanistan.
"There are reports about the situation in the Panjshir Gorge, where the resistance forces of Afghanistan's Vice President Mr. [Amrullah] Saleh and Ahmad Masoud have concentrated. But that only makes our position even more consistent: when the whole of Afghanistan was engulfed in civil war, we advocated the need for an urgent transition to a national dialogue involving all the opposing Afghan forces, all the ethnic and religious groups of Afghanistan, just as now that the Taliban have essentially taken power in Kabul, in most other cities, in most provinces of Afghanistan, we advocate the same thing, a national dialogue that will allow the formation of a representative Afghan government," he said.
The minister reminded that in recent years Moscow within the framework of the enlarged "troika" on settlement in Afghanistan and within the framework of the Moscow format of consultations advocated the earliest possible start of such negotiations. At the same time, according to him, the government of Afghanistan did not seek to fulfill existing agreements to this effect. "What has happened is what has happened. When politicians cannot work effectively, the risk of temptation to a military solution rises," he said.
As Lavrov noted, in the current situation, Moscow is reaffirming its consistent line on creating external conditions to support a nationwide dialogue in Afghanistan.
"I am convinced that the Moscow format has the best prospects, since the situation has already acquired a regional dimension, and the neighboring countries and the countries farther away from Afghanistan are reacting to it," he said. - We are not making any official proposals but everybody has always recognized the effectiveness of this group of accompanying Afghan negotiations and we will be ready, if it is deemed reasonable, to resume the work of this format.
The Minister said that Russia "welcomed the Taliban's statement about their desire to start a dialogue with other political forces in Afghanistan". He pointed out that a meeting with the chairman of the Supreme National Reconciliation Council Abdullah Abdullah, former president Hamid Karzai and the leader of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan Gulbeddin Hekmatyar has already been announced. "We assume that all participants of this group have declared their desire to meet and negotiate in the interests of the Afghan people. We will encourage such processes in every possible way and ensure that these intentions are translated into concrete actions," Lavrov summarized.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS