MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. Russia regrets that a joint statement could not be adopted following today’s meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian president’s special representative for the country, told journalists.
"When drafting the final joint statement, we encountered one problem – that problem was that our Afghan and Pakistani colleagues didn't see eye to eye. We regret this," he said.
"Our Afghan colleagues felt that this year, in the text [of the draft joint statement], Afghanistan was mentioned too often in a terrorist context. To be honest, this surprised us, because the same wording and expressions were used in last year's text, [after] the seventh meeting. Nevertheless, the Afghans believe that the situation in bilateral relations has changed since then, and this year this statement is unacceptable.
"The Moscow format can work and continue to exist without this joint statement. But it would be more in line with tradition, more proper. The Moscow format remains as a platform, but it is not a platform for resolving bilateral disagreements; it is a platform for coordinating regional cooperation."
The Moscow format was established in 2017 on the basis of a mechanism of consultations involving special representatives of Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China, and Pakistan. Its first meeting was held on April 14, 2017, with the participation of deputy ministers and special representatives from 11 countries, including Afghanistan. The main goal of the format is to promote national reconciliation in Afghanistan and to ensure the fastest establishment of peace in the country. Special representatives and senior officials from Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan took part in the current meeting. Delegations from Belarus and Egypt were invited as guests.