The settlement process in Afghanistan is not a subject of rivalry for Russia with Qatar or other states, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday at a joint press conference with Turkish and Qatari Foreign Ministers Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.
"We all have an interest in ensuring that the tragedy of Afghanistan comes to an end as quickly as possible. This is another example of what the consequences of democratization look like in practice, which non-regional countries are trying to bring in," the Minister said. - "We're not competing with Qatar or anyone else here. We are not here from a position that can be made the subject of some kind of jealousy."
He stressed that accusing Qatar of wanting to "pull the blanket over itself" in the inter-Afghan settlement because of the formation of the Doha talks follows a "flawed logic," while there are still unresolved problems in this dialogue process. "We talked about this today, including with the emir [of Qatar] and the foreign minister. We want to help continue these talks from more constructive positions, which each party - a participant in this process - needs to take," Lavrov added.
"This is precisely why the Moscow meeting was convened. It was initiated by the so-called Russia-US-China troika. The troika will meet in an extended format with the inclusion of Pakistan and inviting the Afghan parties. This format is by no means formal, fixed by some decision. Its purpose is to encourage the sides to be more cooperative through informal free discussions and confidential conversations," said the Foreign Minister.
Zamir Kabulov, the Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Director of the Second Asian Department of the Foreign Ministry, told TASS on Tuesday that Russia had invited the United States, China and Pakistan, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban movement (banned in Russia) as well as Afghan politicians to Moscow on March 18 for consultations by the expanded "troika" for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from TASS