The expanded trio (Russia, the US, China and Pakistan) on Afghanistan will meet in Moscow before Moscow format talks, Russia’s special presidential envoy to Afghanistan, Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov said on Tuesday.
“Literally soon we will convene a new meeting [of the expanded trio] in Moscow, right ahead of the Moscow format meeting, which includes 11 states,” Kabulov told a session of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Presidium.
He also noted that a delegation from the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) would also take part in the meeting. It has been invited to represent the interim government of Afghanistan. “The task is to convince the Taliban of the expediency of ensuring inclusiveness of a new state,” the diplomat specified.
