Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting between Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries in Tunxi today
Tunxi: China made a strong pitch for supporting the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan at the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries here today. Russia though asked the United Nations to lead the way in officially recognising the Taliban movement, provided the Kabul government met the conditions of fully representing all sections of Afghan society.
The countries invited by China for the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting were Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The meeting issued the Joint Statement of the Third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan and the Tunxi Initiative of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan on Supporting Economic Reconstruction in and Practical Cooperation with Afghanistan.
Also read: China set for meet on Taliban
Parties announced the launch of a mechanism for regular consultations among special envoys for Afghanistan and three working groups, namely political and diplomatic, economic and humanitarian, security and stability.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said despite the lack of governance experience, financial and economic restrictions and political and diplomatic pressure from the United States and its allies, the new administration of Afghanistan had managed to keep the state afloat.
“Kabul is working proactively to expand its diplomatic and economic ties. The Taliban government officials regularly meet with foreign partners in bilateral and multilateral formats, including in Moscow, Tehran, Doha, Oslo, Antalya, etc. Today, Tunxi has also been added to this list. We are noting the gradual launching of trade and economic interaction, primarily with regional countries whose businesses are interested in Afghanistan. It goes without saying that all these contacts promote the international recognition of the new Afghan authorities. In this connection, I would like to note that the first Afghan diplomat, representing the new government, who arrived in Moscow last month has been accredited at the Russian Foreign Ministry,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov was critical of United States President Joe Biden’s executive order to block half of the assets held by the Central Bank of Afghanistan. He said the decision was “especially cynical and even humiliating”. He added: “This decision is clearly unjust. It drastically limits the ability of the Taliban government to normalise the situation and undermines the counterterrorism potential of the Afghan armed forces and law enforcement agencies. We have every reason to question whether the Americans are sincerely committed to helping bring about stability in Afghanistan.” Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi too demanded the USA “to take primary responsibility as the culprit of the predicament in Afghan, stop unilateral sanctions and unconditionally return Afghanistan’s national assets”.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the following three proposals at the meeting:
- Support Afghanistan in finding a path of self-generated development and support the Afghan people in independently deciding the future of their country, ensure that the “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” principle is truly implemented, realize national reconciliation and unity in Afghanistan, and explore a governance model that suits Afghanistan’s national conditions and responds to the call of the times. “We firmly oppose countries from outside the region to create chaos in Afghanistan or use it for geopolitical rivalry. We should encourage and support Afghanistan in establishing a broad-based and inclusive government and adopting moderate and prudential policies, staying committed to good neighbourliness and friendship, and protecting the fundamental rights of all Afghan people, including all ethnic groups, women and children. We should maintain patience and stay the course, steadily seek solutions that address the common concerns and meet the interests of all parties, and work on Afghanistan to fulfill its commitments to others and due responsibilities,” he said.
- Support Afghanistan in pursuing a path of prosperity and progress. “We are ready to support Afghanistan’s integration into the regional economic architecture and participation in coordinated regional development. We should promote synergy between bilateral and multilateral mechanisms related to Afghanistan and support the United Nations in playing its due role. China respects the leading role of the Afghan interim government in receiving foreign aid and opposes the politicization of humanitarian aid,” he said.
- Support Afghanistan in finding a path of peaceful development. “We should help Afghanistan to take a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to root out terrorism at its source, resolutely crackdown on all kinds of extremist terrorist organizations, including ISIS and ETIM, and ensure that Afghanistan will no longer be a sanctuary, breeding ground and source for terrorist forces. We should address both the symptoms and root causes of refugee and drug problems, help Afghanistan deal with pressing livelihood issues, support Afghanistan in planting alternative crops to jointly eliminate regional sources of drugs,” he said.
Also, on behalf of all the participants, State Councilor Wang Yi summarized the eight-point consensus reached on the Afghan issue.
- “We should respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, support the Afghan people in independently determining the future of their country, and explore a development path that suits their national conditions and conforms to the trend of the times.
- “We generally recognize the governance efforts of the Afghan interim government over the past half-year and call on the Afghan side to realize national reconciliation and unity through dialogue and consultation, establish a broad-based and inclusive government and adopt moderate and prudential policies, and adhere to good-neighbourliness and friendship.
- “We express common concern over terrorist activities in Afghanistan and urge Afghanistan to make a clean break with, resolutely combat and ultimately eliminate terrorist organizations such as ISIS and ETIM. We should strengthen counter-terrorism and security cooperation among neighbouring countries and jointly combat cross-border drug-related crimes in the region.
- “We are concerned about the severe humanitarian difficulties facing Afghanistan, and decide to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, support Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction and self-generated development, and strengthen regional connectivity.
- “We call on all sides to have contact and dialogue with Afghanistan, support Afghanistan’s economic and social development, oppose sanctions and pressure, and oppose the politicization of humanitarian assistance.
- “We urge the US and some other western countries to fulfil their primary responsibility for Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development, return Afghan people’s assets as soon as possible, and oppose any attempt to create chaos in Afghanistan to cause troubles in the region.
- “We support the UN in playing its due role in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and coordinating assistance. We call on international financial institutions to actively inject liquidity into Afghanistan and help the country embark on a path of sound development.
- “We need to continue to leverage the unique role of coordination and cooperation mechanism of neighbouring countries of Afghanistan. We should launch a mechanism for regular consultations among special envoys (special representatives) for Afghanistan of the neighbouring countries and three working groups, namely political and diplomatic, economic and humanitarian, security and stability, to follow up on the outcomes of the foreign ministers’ meetings among the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan.”
Lavrov meanwhile during a meeting here with the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, said that he was convinced that the international community must actively cooperate with the Taliban Government, encouraging it to take the necessary steps for the official recognition by the United Nations and all its members.
“And the key is to ensure the inclusivity of your Government, of your Government structures, not only from the ethnic-confessional point of view but also from the point of view of involving other political forces in the Government. In particular, as I understand, Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah are in Kabul, and they are ready to contribute to the consolidation of the country under the new circumstances,” he said.
Lavrov said Russia will encourage national dialogue under the leadership of the Taliban. “And, of course, humanitarian assistance is the priority at this stage, and the international community must actively participate in those efforts,” he added. He recalled that during their meeting in Moscow last fall in the Moscow Format, they issued an appeal for the international community and the United Nations to convene a conference on humanitarian assistance, on urgent humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
“Unfortunately, the United Nations bureaucracy was taking time to respond to this call, and, at last, a conference was convened or is being convened today, as far as I understand, in Great Britain. And we have reasons to believe that it is not by accident that they did it on the same day as we assembled in China. We have reasons to suspect that it was done on purpose just to counter the conference to our meeting,” Lavrov said. He added, “As they say, better late than never, and, from this point of view, this effort by the international community on the humanitarian front must be encouraged. But, in the mid-term and long-term, it is crucial to start, parallel with the humanitarian problems, to start resolving the problems of sustainable economic development as a basis for the sustainable solution of social issues.”
– global bihari bureau
