On Thursday, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, reported that Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban’s Foreign Minister, will participate in the Moscow Format Consultations in Kazan.
This meeting will be held on September 29 in the presence of representatives from 10 countries in Russia.
Delegates from Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are expected to participate in this meeting.
The Taliban has not yet clarified the status regarding their attendance at this meeting. However, sources from the group have confirmed to RIA Novosti news agency that Muttaqi will participate at the upcoming session.
On Wednesday, September 13, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry in a press conference stated that the Moscow-format meeting would address the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, Afghan reconciliation, regional security, and post-war reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
According to her, the participants will release a joint statement following their discussion on Afghanistan.
Earlier, Zamir Kabulov, the special representative of the Russian president for Afghanistan said that the issue of forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan is on the agenda of this meeting. According to Kabulov, so far, no progress has been made regarding the formation of such a government.
Andrei Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, also said that it is necessary to understand what the international community and especially the participants of the Kazan meeting can do to improve the situation in Afghanistan.
The Moscow format was formed to address the conflicts in Afghanistan. The upcoming meeting in Kazan is the fifth round of Moscow format talks. The Taliban had not been invited to the previous Moscow format meetings.
