Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed concern over the ongoing disagreements between the Taliban government and Pakistan that prevented the adoption of a joint statement at the eighth Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov said the failure to issue a joint statement should not be turned into a “tragedy,” adding that the roots of the disagreements had been foreseeable.
Lavrov said Russia believes both the Taliban government and Pakistan are interested in normalizing relations and that Moscow supports the process.
Earlier, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said the meeting ended without a joint statement after the Taliban objected to references to Afghanistan’s role in terrorism in the draft.
The Moscow Format includes Russia, Pakistan, Iran, India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while Belarus and Egypt attended the latest meeting as guests.
