Afghanistan Attends Moscow and Istanbul Meetings

Afghan National Security Adviser (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib announced at a press conference on Saturday that Afghanistan will attend both the Moscow and Istanbul Meetings. Mohib, however, stressed that the interim setup is not acceptable to the Afghan government.

“The ministry of foreign affairs and the High Council for national reconciliation are working to determine the level of other participants, including the Taliban,” said NSA Mohib during a joint security press conference on Saturday afternoon in Kabul. “If the Taliban negotiating team attends the meetings, the Afghan government negotiating team will also participate,” he added.

Russia is set to convene a conference on Afghanistan in Moscow, which would include envoys from the U.S., China, Pakistan, Qatar, the Afghan government, and Taliban representatives.
Russia on Friday said it was in favor of Afghanistan forming an interim government including members of the Taliban, ahead of talks next week in Moscow aiming to resolve the conflict.

Hamdullah Mohib, meanwhile, says that the interim government will not cure any pain. “This issue is raised by the Taliban because they do not want real peace,” he continued.
This comes as a U.S.-initiated proposal for intra-Afghan dialogue is expected to take place in the first two weeks of April in Istanbul.