Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Kabul to Send ‘Clear Message’ to Taliban at Moscow Talks: MoFA

Kabul to Send ‘Clear Message’ to  Taliban at Moscow Talks: MoFA

KABUL - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Tuesday said Kabul is committed to sending a ‘clear message’ to the Taliban during the upcoming conference on Afghanistan in Moscow.
The Taliban must realize that they cannot reach their objectives by waging war and violence, MoFA spokesman Ahmad Shekib Mustaghni said.
He added that at the meeting, Afghanistan would also push participating countries to deliberate the issue of terrorist safe havens and that terrorists must not be differentiated between.
“Our message to the Taliban in this meeting is that they cannot achieve their goals through war and it has been proven. Another message is that terrorists should not be differentiated between,” Mustaghni stated.
Meanwhile, Office of Abdullah Abdullah, the CEO of the National Unity Government, expressed hope that the upcoming talks in Moscow would help get the peace talks back on track.
“The government of Afghanistan wants regional solidary to be forged in its campaign against terrorism and the Afghan peace process is supported,” the CEO’s spokesman Jawed Faisal said.
Russia is set to host an international conference on Afghanistan on 14 April bringing representatives from at least eleven countries together including China, Pakistan, Iran, India and five central Asian countries where they would hold discussions on how to strengthen the peace process in Afghanistan by dragging the defiant Taliban to the negotiations table.
It appears that the Afghan government is yet to finalize the level of its delegation that will participate at the Moscow meeting.
It is believed that Moscow talks can be a platform for boosting regional coordination on the issue of peace in Afghanistan, but keeping in mind that the Afghan government seeks the countries attending the talks to consider balance while dealing with the threats of the Taliban and Daesh.
“At the conference, Russia must be convinced that to suppress Daesh, the Taliban should not be backed, because both groups have the status of enemy,” said Fawzia Kofi, an MP.
This new development takes place at a time that bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the Russian Federation recently soured following the confirmation by Russian officials that Moscow had been in talks with the Afghan Taliban.
But, what would be the impact of Moscow talks on the peace process in Afghanistan?
“Government should take advantage of this opportunity and reach an outcome with its regional partners so that all of them come forward to suppress extremist groups in Afghanistan,” another MP, Abdul Hafiz Mansour said.
The meeting will be the third of its kind with Moscow as host. (Tolonews)