Invited To Tehran Meeting, But Will Not Attend, Claims Taliban
Zakir Jalali, an official from the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claimed that the group was invited to the meeting in Tehran regarding Afghanistan, but they will not attend it.
Zakir Jalali, an official from the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claimed that the group was invited to the meeting in Tehran regarding Afghanistan, but they will not attend it.
He mentioned that the Taliban expects meetings about Afghanistan to be held "through usual and established mechanisms”.
This meeting is scheduled to take place today in Tehran, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Jalali noted that representatives from Russia, Iran, and China have referred to this meeting by different names.
He explained, Iran calls this meeting the "Regional Contact Group," Russia refers to it as the "Moscow Format Contact Group Meeting," and China, which had opposed the "International Contact Group" for Afghanistan in the UN Security Council, considers the Tehran meeting as an opportunity for consultation.
His reference is to the statement by Zamir Kabulov, Russia's representative for Afghanistan, who called this meeting the "Moscow Format Contact Group”.
Rasoul Mousavi, General Director of the Iranian Foreign Ministry's West Asia Department, referred to the meeting as the "Regional Contact Group" in a post on X social media platform.
Pakistan and China, whose representatives will be attending, have welcomed the meeting.
Although none of these countries had previously mentioned inviting the Taliban, Jalali claims the group was invited.
On Saturday, Jalali posted on X that the Taliban "expects that meetings concerning Afghanistan should use usual and established mechanisms instead of forming new ones”.
He also mentioned, without providing details, that the Taliban has had consultations with "relevant parties" regarding the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan.
The third Doha meeting, with the participation of representatives from various countries, will be held on June 30 and July 1.
