KABUL (SW) – The proposed Moscow Conference has been a matter of controversy between Moscow and Kabul.
The conference was scheduled to take place in September this year, with representatives of the Afghan government, the Taliban group and a number of other countries involved in the affairs of Afghanistan.
But, the meeting was suspended at the request of the Afghan government. Afghanistan wanted to take over the leadership of the meeting, but the Russian response was that the Taliban would not attend the summit if they accepted the will of the Afghan government.
The Afghan government sent a delegation led by Nasir Ahamad Andesha, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Moscow, but a source from the Ministry told Salam Watandar these efforts yield no result.
Prominent media outlets from the West, including the New York Times, the Associated Press and Reuters, have reported that the conference is set to take place on Friday, November 9.
A source from the Afghan High Peace Council, on condition of anonymity, said that a delegation from the High Peace Council will attend the Moscow meeting. This source has not commented on the composition of the delegation and the date of the meeting.
But, MoFA spokesman, Sogbathullah Ahmadi, told SW the government is still considering the formation and timing of the moot in Moscow. He said there is a possibility of the High Peace Council attending the moot.
The Foreign Ministry seems to refuse to attend the Moscow peace conference. Reuters reported that the Russian government is planning to hold the peace conference in Moscow without the permission of the Afghan government.
In the past two months, Russian diplomats have sent invitations to a number of prominent Afghan politicians, and six have confirmed receiving the invitations, including former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Atta Mohammad Noor, chief executive of the Jamiat-e-Islami party. According to the report, the invitation has provoked the anger of Afghan government officials.
The Presidential Palace has not commented on the matter.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has invited representatives from the United States, India, Kazakhstan, Iran, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the moot. According to Reuters, the United States will not attend this meeting.
Waheed Mozhdeh, a political scientist and former Taliban official, said in an interview with SW that the Kabul government is not interested in this meeting due to the influence of the U.S, and that is why the Russians invited a number of Afghan politicians as alternatives.
Although, the Taliban have not officially said anything about their participation or lack of participation at the meeting, Mozhdeh believed that the Taliban will attend the Moscow onference.
Moscow's peace talks are being held while the United States is trying to negotiate directly with the Taliban.
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