NEW DELHI, December 6. /TASS/. Moscow sees reasons for India and Iran to join the activities of the extended Troika on Afghanistan, which consists of Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and the 2+2 meeting between the Russian and Indian foreign and defense ministers on Monday.
"We told [our Indian colleagues] how the extended Troika on Afghanistan - Russia, China, the US and Pakistan - operates. As far as we are concerned, there is every reason to engage countries such as India and Iran in the group’s activities," the Russian top diplomat pointed out.
Lavrov noted that the parties had also agreed to closely coordinate their activities in Central Asia within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in terms of developments in Afghanistan. "In a broader sense, the so-called Moscow platform brings together all the above-mentioned countries and all of Afghanistan’s neighbors without exception, as well as all of our Central Asian partners and allies. The platform will continue its work," the Russian foreign minister stressed.
Lavrov said that Moscow and New Delhi shared the position that Afghanistan needed an inclusive new government. "The Taliban (outlawed in Russia) need to keep their promises to form an inclusive new cabinet that would represent all ethnic and political forces, ensure human rights, end the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking in Afghanistan and prevent instability from spilling over to the neighboring countries - in this regard, we are primarily concerned about Central Asian states," the Russian top diplomat concluded.