Russia notes the intensification of international contacts on Afghanistan, including the emergence of new formats of interaction, Russian Security Council (SB) Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Wednesday in New Delhi at a meeting of security council secretaries on the situation in Afghanistan.
"In general, we note the activation of international and regional players in the Afghan direction, the creation of new formats," Patrushev said.
Among them, he named the Italian initiative to convene an emergency summit of the Group of Twenty on Afghanistan, a regional mechanism of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran, a meeting of Afghanistan's neighbors, as well as a meeting of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States. "All of them are certainly useful. At the same time, we are convinced that these dialogue mechanisms should not duplicate each other's work, but supplement it organically," continued the secretary of the Russian Security Council.
He added that the mechanism of consultations on Afghanistan in the Moscow format "retains its considerable potential" and "makes it possible to coordinate the efforts in assisting the Afghan settlement in consideration of new political conditions in this country". Patrushev said that delegations of all the countries present in New Delhi also took part in the third meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan on October 20. The format confirmed its effectiveness due to the broad representation of stakeholders, the Russian Security Council secretary stressed.
"The collective initiative voiced by its participating countries to convene an international donor conference will make it possible to take a step toward normalizing the situation in Afghanistan and, consequently, ensuring stability in the region," Patrushev concluded.
According to him, a good basis has been laid in Moscow for determining the countries' positions concerning the development of dialogue with the Taliban (banned in Russia), as well as for practical coordination of efforts of all interested countries of the region. "I hope that today we will be able to take one more step forward in working out common measures for provision of national security and maintenance of regional stability," summed up the secretary of the Russian Security Council.
About the meeting in New Delhi
The Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan brings together India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, who are represented at the New Delhi meeting by National Security Advisors or Secretaries of Security Councils. The event is chaired by Ajit Doval, national security adviser to the Indian prime minister. Previous similar meetings were organized by Iran in 2018 and 2019.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS