India’s Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj confirmed the country’s participation in multilateral peace talks scheduled to be held in the Russian capital where representatives of the Afghan Taliban will be present on Friday, the Economic Times reported. “We are aware that the Russian Federation is hosting a meeting in Moscow on 9 November on Afghanistan. India supports all efforts at peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan that will preserve unity and plurality, and bring security, stability and prosperity to the country. India’s consistent policy has been that such efforts should be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled and with the participation of the Government of Afghanistan,” MEA spokesperson said. Putting speculations to rest regarding India’s presence at the Moscow summit along with Taliban leaders, the spokesperson added, “Our participation at the meeting will be at the non-official level.”The US will hold a separate meeting with Taliban leaders under the Doha process, sent an observer to the Friday peace talks. This will be the second time the Russian government attempts to find ways to establish peace in Afghanistan by bring regional powers together. The first meeting – scheduled for September 4 – was called off at the last moment after the Afghan government pulled out, describing its involvement in the Moscow meeting as “unnecessary” as the Taliban had “disrespected internationally-sanctioned principles and rejected the message of peace and direct negotiations”.
However, the Afghan government confirmed that a four-person delegation from the country’s High Peace Council will be attending the meet, while the Taliban also said they would send representatives to Moscow.
Russia has reaffirmed its position that there is no alternative to a political settlement, the need for active coordinated work among the neighboring countries, and agreements with the regional partners of Afghanistan.
“Taliban political envoys will attend the meeting but the participation does not mean they will hold talks with anyone. This is a meeting to debate the current situation in Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. “The meeting will discuss the end of the American invasion, identify problems and deliberate on regional peace,” Mujahid said in a brief statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry bills the peace talks as the “first direct high-level talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government”.
The importance that Russia attaches to the second session of the Moscow conference on Afghanistan today is evident from the fact that the event will be opened by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry sent invitations to representatives of 11 countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan, the US, India, Iran, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the deputy foreign ministers-level talks.
Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai also announced his intention to attend the conference saying, “any possibility of peace talks with the Taliban should not be ignored.” Atta Muhammad Nur, a former governor of Afghanistan’s Balkh province, is also expected to attend.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, all the invited countries except the US confirmed their participation. The US State Department earlier explained its refusal due to, “the absence of significant results of the first meeting in Moscow regarding the Afghan peace process”.
