Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, October 6, described the disagreements between the Taliban and Pakistan as "unpleasant" following the eighth Moscow Format meeting's failure to issue a final statement.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, Lavrov said that despite the lack of a statement, one should not make a tragedy of it, as the roots of the challenges were predictable. He stated that the serious tension between the Taliban and Pakistan is due to the presence of ISIS and its affiliates, which carry out attacks in both countries.
Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, had previously said the meeting ended without a joint declaration due to a dispute between the Taliban and Pakistani delegations. According to him, the Taliban believed Afghanistan was mentioned "too much in the context of terrorism" in the draft text.
Kabulov added that the Taliban's position was surprising to Moscow, as similar language was present in last year's statement. However, the Taliban argued that the situation has changed and this was no longer acceptable to them.
Lavrov also linked the emergence of ISIS to the US invasion of Iraq and the rise of new terrorist groups to the NATO intervention in Libya. He expressed confidence that both the Taliban and Pakistan are inclined to normalize relations and that Moscow supports this process.
Russian officials stressed that this incident will not hinder the functioning of the Moscow Format, which will continue its activities.
Source: Russian Foreign Ministry
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