Russia regrets the absence of a US delegation at the Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday, opening a meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan.
"We regret the non-participation this time of our American colleagues," he said.
Lavrov noted that this was the second time the US avoided a meeting within the framework of the expanded troika (Russia, US, China, Pakistan) and expressed hope that this did not entail any problems of principle.
"Probably one of the reasons is the recent change of the US special representative for Afghanistan," pointed out the minister. - "I hope the US is still willing to work actively on Afghanistan, and that the new special envoy will join the steps, including those taken at the end of the current meeting of the Moscow format, in the context of the fulfillment of the agreements which I hope you will reach here today".
Building consensus
The Moscow format provides an opportunity to move forward in working out a consensus of the region's countries on the Afghan problem, Lavrov said.
"We attach great importance to the work of this mechanism, we consider it one of the most needed in terms of working out a pan-regional consensus and developing a common understanding of the further development of the situation in and around Afghanistan. The main and indisputable advantage of the Moscow format is that it unites Afghanistan with all neighboring countries and other influential states of the region without exception," the foreign minister said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS