DOHA, March 1. /TASS/. The peace deal, signed by the United States and the Taliban (banned in Russia) in Qatar’s capital Doha on Saturday, bears weighty significance for Russia’s security, Russian Presidential Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told TASS.
"The agreement holds milestone significance for Afghanistan, first and foremost. It paves the way for further steps aimed at stopping the war and promoting national reconciliation, which should put an end to the civil war in Afghanistan," said Kabulov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asia Department.
"Hence, a link to Russia’s national security interests is evident. Once there is no war in Afghanistan but there is an inclusive Afghan government, it [the government] with the help of the international community will suppress all the hotbeds of international terrorism, let it be ISIS (the former name of the Islamic State terrorist group outlawed in Russia - TASS) or al-Qaeda (also banned in Russia - TASS) and so on. It is directly beneficial for Russia," he stressed.
Intra-Afghan talks
Russia is set to deploy observers to the intra-Afghan talks and to help find a compromise between the parties to the conflict, Kabulov said.
"Yes, of course," he said answering a relevant question. "We have been discussing that with Americans, Pakistanis and Chinese so far. Certainly, we have no right to participate in the negotiation, as they are intra-Afghan talks, but the presence of concerned international players on the sidelines of such meetings will have a certain influence. We will be doing our best to help both Afghan sides to seek an acceptable compromise," he promised.
Russia ready to send its observers for intra-Afghan talks, Kabulov noted.
"Yes, of course," he said answering a relevant question. "We have been discussing that with Americans, Pakistanis and Chinese so far. Certainly, we have no right to participate in the negotiation, as they are intra-Afghan talks, but the presence of concerned international players on the sidelines of such meetings will have a certain influence. We will be doing our best to help both Afghan sides to seek an acceptable compromise," he promised.
Political crisis
Moscow hopes that Afghanistan’s political crisis after the presidential election will not block the implementation of the peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban (banned in Russia) in Qatar’s capital Doha on Saturday, Kabulov said.
"I hope it cannot derail it, but can complicate the implementation of that agreement. So we are hopeful that this destructive process will end," Kabulov said.
According to the diplomat, "it is shameful to brand elections in Afghanistan as elections.
"Perhaps, we should not focus on them now, but on the main thing, namely the intra-Afghan talks, as they should bring peace and change. The two Afghan sides, who have been at war with each other for so many decades, will negotiate the future of the state and, in particular, will decide on the leadership, the government, the parliament, the constitution and so on," he added.
On 18 February, Afghanistan's incumbent President Ashraf Ghani was officially declared the winner of the presidential election. He secured 50.64% of the vote, according to the Independent Election Commission. Presidential candidate and Prime Minister Abdullah Abdullah refused to concede the election.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban movement (banned in Russia), put their signatures under the agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Qatar’s capital Doha on Saturday. The peace deal had been worked out by the US special representative and the Taliban in Doha over months of negotiation, since October 2018.
Under the terms of the deal, Washington and its allies commit to withdrawing their forces from Afghanistan in next 14 months provided that the Taliban meets its commitments. The United States will review the current US sanctions against the Taliban with the goal of removing them by August 2020. Moreover, the US will launch diplomatic efforts to remove members of the Taliban from the sanctions list of the United Nations by May 2020. Besides, talks between the Taliban and other Afghan parties are to start on March 10.
Representatives from 23 countries and organizations attended the ceremony. Kabulov was an observer from Russia.