India has not been invited to a meeting being convened by Russia on Afghanistan that is expected to see the participation of the United States, China and Pakistan, Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted top sources as saying. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Qatar on 11 August.
Russia has also been holding the “Moscow Format” of talks to bring peace and creating conditions for the process of national reconciliation in Afghanistan.
Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Tashkent that Russia will continue to work with India and other countries which can influence the situation in Afghanistan. Following the comments, there was speculation that India may be included in the upcoming Afghanistan meeting.
“We will continue working with the Americans in the extended Troika format as well as with all other countries that can influence the situation in Afghanistan, including our partners from Central Asia, India, Iran and the US,” Lavrov had told reporters. “We have a Moscow format that includes all the main players,” he had said.
Though Russia has differences with the US on various dimensions of the Afghan conflict, the two countries are now pushing for the intra-Afghan talks and to put an end to the widespread violence being perpetrated by the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Afghan Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay described as a positive development the decision to hold a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on 6 August to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
India’s ambassador to the UN T.S. Tirumurti announced that the UN Security Council will meet on Friday under Indian Presidency to discuss and take stock of the situation in Afghanistan.
“Convening an emergency UN Security Council Session on Afghanistan is a positive development. UN and international community must play a greater role to stop the unfolding tragedy in Afghanistan due to violence & atrocities by terrorists. Thank you, India for the lead role as UNSC president,” Mamundzay tweeted.
The decision to hold the UNSC meeting came two days after Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Hanif Atmar spoke to his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar on the convening of an emergency session of the UN Security Council to stop Taliban’s violence.
India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly $3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the war-ravaged country. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process that is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.
India holds the presidency of the UNSC for the month of August.