MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. Moscow and Washington do not have any kind of official communication on Afghanistan, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan and Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov told RTVI.
When asked whether Russia stays in touch with the US on Afghanistan, he said that "there are no channels left now." "We do not communicate," Kabulov added when asked if there was any official communication with his American counterpart, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West.
The presidential envoy recalled the 2021 Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan, when West first visited Moscow, noting that "there was a completely different international environment then." In this regard, he recalled that in the spring of 2023, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres convened a meeting on Afghanistan in Doha. "Both I and West were there. But my Chinese colleague [Chinese Foreign Ministry Special Envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong] and I told Guterres then that we cannot be on the same team with a country that has stolen the money of the Afghan people and is not returning it," Kabulov stressed.
The senior Russian diplomat pointed to the activities of a special trust fund in Switzerland created to "return money to the Afghan government." "I believe that this fund is an absolutely clumsy attempt by the US to cover up the violation of international law. <...> The money of the Afghan people has been stolen - just as Russia's money has been stolen, and before that Iran's. These are phenomena of the same magnitude. That is why we will not sit at the same table with thieves," the envoy concluded.
Earlier, Kabulov told TASS that US representatives "were not invited and were not expected" at the Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan as observers. He pointed out that the format of the extended Troika on Afghanistan with the participation of the US now actually does not exist. "In its place came the four - Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran. This format will work for the time being. We will see," the Russian diplomat added.
About meeting
The Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan will be held in Kazan on September 29. Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that during the meeting the sides plan to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan, the issues of inter-Afghan reconciliation, regional security and post-conflict reconstruction of the country. According to her, a joint statement from the parties is expected to be adopted at the end of the event.
The Moscow format consulations on Afghanistan include Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The previous meeting was held last November.