After yesterday’s “Troika-Plus” meeting in Moscow on Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today delivered the opening remarks to the Moscow Format discussion on Afghanistan, this one attended by ten regional nations and representatives of the Taliban. Lavrov stated about the Taliban interim government: “We note the efforts they are making to stabilise the military-political situation and to ensure the smooth operation of the public governance system. Sustainable peace in Afghanistan remains a pressing goal,” Lavrov said. “We believe that forming an inclusive government, which fully reflects the interests of all ethnic and political forces in the country, is the key to achieving it,” he remarked. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/17pbFMdfUY-9aFKe-X1_APROvLwK5jIAoqNDRzVGFds8/edit)
Lavrov had earlier been explicit that the issue of the recognition of the Taliban was not on the agenda for this week’s meetings, as further progress has to be made to have a more inclusive government. He explained that “like other countries that have influence in the region,” Russia maintains contacts with the Taliban and hopes the Taliban will keep its promises and take measures to ensure the inclusiveness of the Afghan government not only from the ethnic but also from the political point of view, TASS reported.
