Foreign Ministers of Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan called on Taliban to form inclusive government

13 April 2023


The foreign ministers of Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan called on the radical Taliban movement, which seized power in Afghanistan, to form an inclusive government and to cancel all the restrictive measures against women and national minorities. The ministers said in a joint statement following an informal meeting in Samarkand.

 

"The ministers called on the Afghan authorities to establish an inclusive government with the practical participation of all ethnic groups and political institutions and cancel all restrictive measures against women and national minorities," reads the statement, the text of which was published Thursday on the official Telegram channel of the Iranian foreign ministry.

 

The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, China, and Pakistan also called on the Afghan authorities to pursue a friendly foreign policy, comply with international law and coexist in harmony with all countries of the world. In addition, they "supported all diplomatic efforts to promote a political solution to Afghanistan's problems," and noted the positive role played in this regard by the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), conferences of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighbors and consultations in the Moscow format.

 

In the spring of 2021, the Taliban launched a massive operation to take control of Afghanistan after the US announced its decision to withdraw its armed forces from there. On August 15, the radicals entered Kabul without a fight and on September 7 they announced the composition of their provisional government, whose legitimacy has not yet been recognized by any country.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic world"

Photo: Press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation / TASS

Based on materials from TASS