Lagatar24 Desk
Moscow, Oct 19: Russia informed on Tuesday that the representatives of 10 countries and a high-level Taliban delegation will take part in the Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan. The discussion will focus on the military and political situation in Afghanistan, the formation of an inclusive government and international efforts to prevent a humanitarian crisis. This meeting will be hosted by Russia and will take place on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the United States has said that it will not be participating in talks on Afghanistan hosted by Russia. “We will not participate in the Moscow talks”, said the State Department Spokesperson Ned Price. Price said that the United States is unable to join the talks due to logistic difficulties.
The Taliban delegation will be headed by Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy prime minister of the interim Afghan government, Afghan Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote on twitter. According to his statement, the Taliban is planning to hold negotiations with representatives of different countries on issues of mutual interest during their visit to Moscow.
Notably, India has also confirmed its participation in the talks. The Ministry of External Affairs said yesterday that India has received an invitation to the Moscow Format Meeting on Afghanistan on October 20 and will be participating in it.