Russia likely to host Afghanistan and the Taliban leaders’ dialogues, opposed to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, promoting its vital role of power broker ending 17-year-old Afghan crisis, which the United States called an attempt to “muddle” US-led peace process, Taliban and Russian sources said on Thursday.
According to Reuters news reports, Russia has humiliated the Ghani’s government in order to ensure the involvement of the Taliban who has reiterated its refusal to hold dialogues with Afghan’s representatives to put an end to 17-year-old Afghan crisis, calling them the US “puppet”, a source said.
While speaking on condition of anonymity, a Russia official said: “Senior Taliban leaders and prominent Afghan politicians will travel to Moscow for a day-long summit. At this sensitive stage, it was best to not have Afghan government officials at the table.”
Although, the Russian embassy in Kabul did not offer any further comments or remarks.
Russia’s dialogue also underlined the increasing role of Moscow, which it is playing in Afghan, decades after its forces withdrew from the Afghan region along with cultural and diplomatic outreach, business investment plans, and little military assistance for the central government.
The latest effort reported by the US special inspector general for Afghan rebuilding also noted that the control of Afghan’s population and territory “became somewhat more contested (and) Afghan government control or influence continued to decline”.
The reports of hosting Ghani’s critics, also including former president Hamid Karzai who used to believed that Russia could play a crucial role in ending US’ longest war, has angered the US officials and Kabul too.
A senior US official said, “Russia is again trying to muddle the U.S.-backed peace process and the political situation of Afghanistan,” further adding the Moscow’s repeated prelude towards Ghani’s critics and the Taliban has proved its determination to dismiss the government.
Ghani’s critics, Atta Mohammad Noor, Mohammad Ismail Khan, and Mohammad Mohaqiq will travel to Russia. The Taliban political office’ spokesperson Sohail Shahin said a delegation team led by Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai would also travel to Russia for what he said would a two-day official meeting.
“Russia knows that Ghani’s government was established with American support that is why they are not giving importance to it,” said Wadir Safi, a political science professor at Kabul University.
“The Moscow meeting can cause hurdles to the ongoing peace talks if it is not in close cooperation with the U.S peace efforts.”
The next round of Afghan peace talks will be organized in February in Qatar, between the US special envoy to Afghan peace reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Mullah Abdul Ghani, the new political leader of the Taliban.
Good luck that.