UN-brokered int’l meeting on Afghanistan may take place in near future: Moscow

Another UN-mediated international meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan could take place in the foreseeable future, Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan, has said.

“We are planning a range of broad international events on Afghanistan. We and our regional partners remember that UN Secretary General [Antonio] Guterres planned to gather special envoys, just as he did, you will remember, in Doha in the spring, after the presentation of a report from his special coordinator,” Kabulov told TASS news agency.

“As far as I can see, such a report has been presented and distributed. We will have to study it thoroughly, since he [the UN chief] said that after all the parties concerned analyze the report he would like to again bring everyone together somewhere to exchange views on it. Bearing this in mind, we are in no hurry. First, we will scrutinize this report, we have already begun, and then an invitation from New York will probably come,” he noted.

According to Kabulov, such a meeting would give an opportunity “to speak with partners and like-minded people” on its margins.

The conference on Afghanistan was held at Guterres’ initiative in Doha on May 1 to 2, 2023. It was attended by envoys from Russia, Great Britain, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, China, Norway, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, France, Japan, as well as from the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.