The “aftertaste” from Ahmad Massoud’s trip has not yet passed from the alarmed hearts of the Taliban.
Author: Ghaus Janbaz, former Afghan diplomat (Russia)
Will the Taliban* take part in the meeting in Kazan?
Andrei Rudenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, in a conversation with journalists on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum 2023, said the following about this:
"Moscow expects that the Taliban will take part in the upcoming meeting of the Moscow Format consultations on Afghanistan."
Rudenko said: “In general, all participants confirmed and plan to take part in the upcoming meeting of the Moscow format in order to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. We hope that representatives of the current government of Afghanistan will also take part in it.”
According to Rudenko, Moscow views the upcoming meeting as “another stage towards continuing the exchange of views on what measures the international community and member states of the Moscow format could take to ensure overall stability.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on August 1 that a new meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan is scheduled to be held on September 29 of this year (2023) in the city of Kazan (the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan - Russia).
Earlier, in early August, the special representative of the Russian President for Afghanistan, head of the second Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zamir Kabulov, outlined the agenda of the upcoming Kazan meeting as follows:
- Formation of an inclusive government (central issue)
- Fight against terrorism and
- Preventing drug-related crimes.
Outlining general information on preparations for the Kazan meeting, Zamir Kabulov expressed confidence that the Taliban delegation will come to Russia to participate in the work of the format.
On July 16 of this year, the Russian Ambassador to Kabul, Dmitry Zhirnov, conveyed an official invitation to Mulla Mottaqi, the Taliban Foreign Minister, to take part in the Moscow format meeting.
Mullah Mottaqi, apparently, did not express any objections to the participation of the Taliban in the Kazan meeting.
Meanwhile, political interactions between the Taliban and Moscow have changed markedly after Ahmad Massoud's surprise visit to Moscow and his meeting with one of the influential deputies of the Russian State Duma, Sergei Mironov, creating some atmosphere of mistrust between the parties.
The information available to the author indicates that the unexpected arrival of Ahmad Massoud in Russia plunged the Taliban leaders into a state of shock. In “the highest levels of the Taliban hierarchy, this step was perceived very painfully and emotionally, causing a storm of bewilderment among them.
Apparently, the Taliban did not expect such an attitude from Moscow, describing Moscow’s demarche as “a step towards establishing relations with various Afghan political forces located abroad and an attempt to abandon strategic cooperation with the Taliban regime.” Although the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs almost immediately issued a detailed statement regarding Ahmad Massoud’s visit to Moscow and even called the organization headed by Ahmad Massoud “the so-called National Resistance Front,” actually emphasizing Moscow’s previous official line regarding the Taliban. However, as they say, the “aftertaste” from Ahmad Massoud’s trip has not yet passed from the alarmed hearts of the Taliban.
Informed sources in Kabul, in light of recent events and the current conditions, in particular the announced repeated invitation of Ahmad Massoud to take part in a round table on Afghanistan in the building of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, this fall, “the Taliban are considering whether to come to the Moscow format meeting.”
Observers emphasize that the final decision on participation in the Moscow format or refusal has not yet been made by the Taliban.
According to the same observers, the Taliban are wondering “whether the stated agenda suits them and what should be the status of the Taliban delegation at the meeting?!”
* Organization is prohibited.
