Russia to hold meeting on Afghanistan
Russia will receive representatives from countries including Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran and India for the Moscow Format meeting today
A Taliban delegation headed by Abdul Sala Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister of the Afghan Government, will attend as the meeting is expected to address the ongoing destabilization of Afghanistan. This meeting follows a series of Russian joint military drills combatting instability in the region resulting from the circumstances in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s instability poses a security threat to the region. In August, Russia and China carried out Zapad/Interaction drills with the purpose of prioritizing stability in the Central Asian region, specifically Afghanistan. October 18 also marked the beginning of a Russian-led post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) exercise on the Tajik-Afghanistan border. Both of these drills have been done with the express intent to combat instability from the Taliban. With the frequency of exercises leading up to this meeting, expect Moscow to raise the issue of Afghanistan’s impact on the region’s security.
This meeting marks a diplomatic effort from Russia in combating Afghanistan’s destabilization. While according to Russian officials, major breakthroughs are unexpected, the occurrence of talks themselves is promising.
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