Govt confirms it will attend Moscow and Turkey peace summits

The Afghan National Security Advisor (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib said Saturday that Afghanistan will attend the Moscow and Istanbul peace conferences scheduled to take place in the next few weeks.

The Russia-backed Moscow summit is scheduled for March 18, while the US-backed peace conference will be held in Turkey in April.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday Mohib said that government will attend both the Moscow and Turkey meetings.

Mohib meanwhile said the Taliban has no intention of ushering in peace in Afghanistan and that “they spread fear among the people.”

This comes after Russia said Friday that it is in favor of the formation of an interim government in Afghanistan that includes Taliban representation.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters: “The formation of an interim inclusive administration would be a logical solution to the problem of integrating the Taliban into the peaceful political life of Afghanistan.”

Zakharova stated that the decision should be made “by the Afghans themselves and should be resolved during negotiations on national reconciliation.”

Afghan NSA Mohib, however, stated that the formation of an interim government would not resolve the current issues in the war-weary country.

A source told ArianaNews that Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation will attend the Moscow meeting.

Russian Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov sent out a letter earlier this week inviting Afghan leaders, politicians, and Taliban representatives to attend the Moscow peace meeting.

Kabulov told Russian news outlets that all the participants invited to attend the Moscow peace meeting next week have confirmed their attendance.