TEHRAN, April 13. /TASS/. The foreign ministers of Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan have called on the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia), which has seized power in Afghanistan, to form an inclusive government and to lift all restrictive measures against women and ethnic minorities.
"The ministers called on the Afghan authorities to form an inclusive government involving all ethnic groups and political institutions and lift all restrictive measures against women and national minorities," reads their joint statement adopted at an informal meeting in Samarkand. Its text was uploaded to the official Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
Russia, Iran, China and Pakistan also urged the Afghan authorities to pursue a friendly foreign policy, respect international law and coexist in harmony with all countries. They supported "all diplomatic efforts to promote a political solution to Afghanistan's problems," and noted the positive role played in this regard by the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the conferences of foreign ministers from Afghanistan's neighbors and consultations on the Moscow negotiating platform.
In the spring of 2021, the Taliban launched a large-scale operation to eventually take control of Afghanistan after the US announced its decision to withdraw its military. On August 15, the radicals entered Kabul without encountering resistance and on September 7 they announced the composition of their provisional government, whose legitimacy has not been recognized by any country so far.