The joint statement of the expanded "troika" on Afghanistan, adopted following the meeting in Moscow, may form the basis of the agenda of the inter-Afghan negotiations. This was stated on Wednesday at an online briefing by the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, Director of the Second Department of Asia of the Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov.
"I think it can," he said, answering the relevant question.
"The attitude to this joint statement of the four states was ambiguous, but we are satisfied that the majority of the participants of the meeting, primarily representatives of Kabul, the Afghan political forces, fully supported the content of this statement," the diplomat continued.
According to Kabulov, the Taliban movement has not yet "matured to the realization that the international community is not ready to accept their claims for the restoration of the Islamic emirate in Afghanistan." "But this is not only the opinion of the participants of the consultations, but also the opinion of the UN Security Council. Therefore, there is a reference to the relevant resolution. And in this form, it can become part of the further agenda of the inter-Afghan negotiations, " he added.
Creation of a coalition government
The creation of a coalition provisional government in Afghanistan is real, and all participants in the expanded troika on Afghanistan understand that there is no other alternative, Kabulov said. "I would say not only really, I would say that there is no alternative to it [the coalition provisional government], as far as we understand with the Americans, Pakistanis and Chinese partners," he said, answering a question.
According to Kabulov, the need to form the coalition provisional government is due to the fact that " both sides must stop killing each other and find a formula for joint governance of the country."
However, the diplomat noted, this does not mean that this decision is imposed on the Afghans. "We are talking about a way out, if someone could offer us a better way out, which no one has offered, we would be glad. Therefore, it is up to the Afghans themselves to decide what kind of government, what formula the government will have, the composition, the balance of forces. All this is for the Afghans to decide on their own, " Kabulov concluded.
Fighting the Islamic State
The fight against the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS, banned in Russia) will be one of the priorities of the future coalition government of Afghanistan, Kabulov said. "Today, the Islamic State does not dominate the Afghan military and political field, in no small part due to the fact that this is hindered by the Taliban movement, which is actively fighting against the Islamic State in Afghanistan. Therefore, this task will be one of the key ones for the future coalition leadership of Afghanistan, " he said.
According to Kabulov, the threat from the IS to Afghanistan remains. "We are closely monitoring it. We have repeatedly said that with any problem of this kind, especially when it comes to such a dangerous terrorist organization as the IS, it is better to deal closely with it while it is not yet strong, " the diplomat added.
Istanbul meeting
Kabulov also said that Russia will be able to make a decision on participation in the Istanbul meeting on Afghanistan after considering its concept. "Both our American colleagues and other partners were told clearly: we, in principle, support any international meetings that will contribute to an early end to the war in Afghanistan and achieve national reconciliation. But before giving consent to participate, we ask to provide us with several documents. The first document is the concept of such a meeting, " he said.
Kabulov specified what other factors will influence Russia's decision to participate in the Istanbul meeting. "The second: we want to see an agenda in which some kind of concept should manifest itself, and to understand more clearly the modalities of the invited parties, as I have read in American sources about who they want to invite. But this is not enough, it must be put on paper and justified. In the aggregate of all these factors, we will report to the Russian leadership, and it will make a decision whether to participate or not to participate, " he said.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sent a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in which he proposed to hold a conference on the Afghan settlement with the participation of the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, India and Iran under the auspices of the UN, as well as a high-level inter-Afghan meeting in Turkey. Later, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that talks on a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan will be held in Istanbul. It is expected that they will be held in April, but the exact dates have not yet been determined.
US actions
As Kabulov noted, the work with the United States during the inter-Afghan conference can be considered very constructive. "Our American colleagues have worked very constructively together with us. <...> I am quite satisfied. And we worked with the Americans constructively and, one might say, amicably, " he said.
Kabulov added that it was thanks to joint work with American colleagues, supported by Pakistani and Chinese partners, that it was possible to encourage all Afghan parties to hold their private inter-Afghan backstage meetings.
At the same time, as the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation noted, Moscow has a feeling that the new American administration under the leadership of President Joe Biden considers the agreement of its predecessors with the Taliban almost as a mistake. "Sometimes it seems that the new US administration considers the step of the old administration to conclude an agreement with the Taliban, if not as erroneous, then not very perfect," he said.
As Kabulov pointed out, this approach of the United States is emotional and is carried out according to the principle: "everything that the old administration did is a mistake or wrong." "I think that such things should be approached from the point of view of their national interests," the diplomat added.
The radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia) will react negatively if the United States does not fulfill its obligations and does not withdraw troops from Afghanistan by May 1, Kabulov said. "I am sure that [the Taliban] will react negatively. We proceed from the inviolability of international law, that treaties must be implemented. Once the contract is signed, no matter under which administration, it means that certain obligations were taken. If these obligations are not fulfilled, then the Taliban has a perfectly legitimate right to consider the other side a violator of the agreements and take action, " he said.
Kabulov noted that Russia "does not fixate on the dry principles of international law" and expects that the United States and the Taliban will find acceptable solutions that would prevent a return to hostilities.
Iran's participation
Russia hopes that Iran will soon join the negotiations on the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, said the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation.
"Iran can play a significant role if it gets involved. The absence of Iranians at the table [of negotiations] is felt, and I hope that in the very near future the Iranian partners will join this work and we will work in full force, " he said.
Ratings of the meeting in Moscow
Kabulov also said that he had not heard about the negative assessments of the Afghan president of the consultations of the expanded "troika" held in Moscow last week.
"I don't know, we can only rely on the official statement of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, which was made, which gives a positive assessment of the results of these consultations. I have not heard about any statement of the President of Afghanistan in this regard, " he said.
The meeting of the expanded troika (Russia, China, the United States, Pakistan) on the settlement in Afghanistan at the level of special representatives was held on March 18 in Moscow. The consultations were attended by representatives of the Afghan authorities and the radical Taliban movement, as well as Qatar and Turkey. Following the meeting, a joint statement was adopted. The countries participating in the troika, in particular, called on the parties to the Afghan conflict to conclude a peace agreement and reduce the level of violence in the country.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from TASS