Moscow: Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will visit Moscow next week to attend a meeting on Afghanistan reconciliation and regional cooperation, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
In a regular briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Muttaqi will also hold bilateral talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the event.
“The seventh meeting of the Moscow Format consultations on Afghanistan will be held in Moscow on October 7, bringing together special representatives and senior officials from Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan,” she said.
The Committee comprises all 15 members of the UN Security Council and makes its decision by consensus. The 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee is currently chaired by Pakistan. The two Vice-Chairs for 2025 are Guyana and Russia.
In May this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said he had a “good conversation” with Muttaqi and “deeply appreciated his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.” Jaishankar had “welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports. Underlined our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and our continuing support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward.”
A planned visit to India by Muttaqi last month was called off after he could not get a waiver for the trip. India has not yet recognised the Taliban set up and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul.
New Delhi has also been insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.
