RASC News Agency: The sixth Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan commenced this morning, October 4. Representatives from Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Taliban are participating in this gathering. The main proceedings of the meeting are being held behind closed doors. Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, announced on Wednesday that “the priority of this meeting is to discuss the peace process in Afghanistan and to expand practical engagement between regional governments and Kabul in the areas of politics, economics, counter-terrorism, and drug trafficking.”
On the sidelines of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to meet with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, to discuss bilateral cooperation. A joint statement is expected to be issued following the conclusion of the meeting. Russia, Iran, and China are considered among the Taliban’s closest collaborators in Afghanistan, even supporting the group’s extremist and anti-women policies.
These countries, particularly Russia, believe they can leverage the U.S. proxy group in Afghanistan. It is suggested that Afghanistan has become a playground for the U.S., which has merely changed its players replacing a corrupt and discredited republic with an emirate to implement its intelligence objectives in Afghanistan and the region.
However, Russia aims to mobilize the Taliban in alignment with its own policies, oblivious to the fact that the U.S. brought them to power and continues to provide millions of dollars weekly to the group. The Taliban are acutely aware that, within the U.S. sphere, they cannot align themselves with Russia or Iran.
