Fate of Moscow peace conference in limbo

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The Moscow conference on the Afghan peace initially expected as early as November is still in uncertainty as the government of Afghanistan has not reached an agreement with Russia over the date and other things of the meeting.

The High Peace Council a body responsible to establish peace talks with the Taliban had earlier said the meeting would be held at the end of this week.

But, Sebghatullah Ahmadi, spokesman of the foreign ministry rejected the meeting would be held this week, saying Afghan and Russian diplomats failed to reach an agreement after days of negotiations.

“The Moscow meeting is a matter of discussion for us. We talked to Russian officials on this and are still discussing, but have not reached an agreement yet,” Ahmadi said. He refused to clarify the exact date of the Moscow meeting.

Russian deputy foreign minister said Wednesday the date of the meeting would be “soon announced”, while some Russian media outlets had earlier said it would be held on November 1st.

“Any meeting on Afghan peace in any part of the world should be held under the leadership of Afghan government. All the world countries have accepted this and are committed to the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” Ahmad emphasized.

Political analysts are hopeful with the Moscow meeting, calling it an opportunity that should be used well by the government of Afghanistan.