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Envoy says Afghanistan has no plans to take part in Moscow talks

The Afghan Foreign Ministry earlier said that Kabul would not take part in the Moscow format meeting

© Boris Kavashkin/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. Afghanistan’s government at the moment has no intention of taking part in the Moscow format talks on September 4 where Taliban members have been invited, Presidential Envoy for Central Asia and CIS Shakir Kargar told TASS.

"At the moment Afghanistan has no plkabulans to take part in the September 4 meeting," he said.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry earlier said that Kabul would not take part in the Moscow format meeting. For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry, which organizes the meeting, noted that it counts on Afghan representatives’ participation.

Taking part in the upcoming Moscow format consultations will be regional countries. Members of the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) have been invited to the September meeting. Officials in Kabul earlier said they were ready for contacts with the Taliban but insisted that it should first recognize the country’s incumbent authorities and agree to seek an agreement on the basis of the current constitution.

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