MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan are preparing for a meeting on Afghanistan, which may take place by the end of January, Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, has told TASS.
"The meeting is being prepared. It will take place," he said. The dates and venue will be announced later. However, Kabulov remarked, "there is hope" that the event might take place before the end of January.
He stressed that the exchange of strikes between Iran and Pakistan would not affect the preparations.
"No, there are no such concerns," Kabulov replied to a relevant question.
The Russian presidential special envoy said that on the agenda of the meeting will be "interaction with the current Afghan authorities in the interests of creating an inclusive government, the fight against terrorism and drug crime."
On January 16, Iran's armed forces struck two headquarters of the terrorist group Jaish al-Zulm on Pakistani territory. Drones and missiles were used in the operation. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry condemned the strike, calling it a violation of the country's air borders that could entail serious consequences. On January 18, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the country's Armed Forces had carried out an anti-terrorist operation in which extremist hideouts in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan provinces were hit.
Pakistan's National Security Committee, which is headed by the country's acting Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, on Friday arrived at the conclusion that Islamabad and Tehran would be able to overcome contradictions together and further develop bilateral ties. The Committee said that both countries would be able to overcome minor annoyances through dialogue and diplomacy and pave the way for further deepening of historical relations, according to a news release by the secretariat of Pakistani prime minister’s office.