NEW DELHI, November 10. /TASS/. Russia notes the reactivation of international contacts on Afghanistan including the new formats of interaction, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said at a meeting on security issues in Afghanistan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"Overall, we are seeing the activation of international and regional players on the Afghan track, the development of new formats," the Russian security chief said.

Among others, he named the Italian initiative to convene an extraordinary G20 summit on Afghanistan, the regional mechanism of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran, a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbor countries as well as a meeting of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States. "All of them, undoubtedly, are useful. At the same time, we are certain that these dialogue mechanisms should not duplicate each other’s work but organically complement it," the Russian official said.

He added that the mechanism of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan "retains its significant potential" and "allows to coordinate the efforts on facilitating the Afghan settlement taking into account the new political conditions in that country." The Russian security chief noted that the delegations of all countries present in New Delhi on October 20 also participated in the third Moscow-format meeting on Afghanistan. He stressed that the format proved its effectiveness because of the wide representation of interested sides.

"The collective initiative to convene an international donor conference expressed by its participating countries will allow to move ahead with normalizing the situation in Afghanistan and ensuring stability in the region as a consequence," he added.

According to the Russian security chief, a good foundation was laid in Moscow in order to determine the position of countries with regards to developing dialogue with the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) as well as for the practical coordination of the efforts of all interested countries in the region. "I hope that today we will be able to take another step forward in developing the general measures of ensuring national security and maintaining regional stability," he concluded.

Security officials from India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participate in New Delhi’s regional dialogue on security issues in Afghanistan. The event is chaired by National Security Advisor for the Indian Prime Minister Ajit Doval. Previously, Iran organized similar events in 2018 and 2019.