Taliban to attend third UN meeting on Afghanistan: Afghan FM spox

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Jun 2024 21:39

The country's decision to attend would depend on any modifications made to the agenda and the roster of participants, the spokesman said.

Listen

The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, Feb. 28, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. (AP)

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Sunday that the Taliban will participate in the third international meeting on Afghanistan under UN auspices scheduled for June 30 to July 1.

The first two Doha meetings, chaired by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and attended by special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries, were held in May 2023 and February 2024 without the presence of Taliban representatives.

"The agenda and participation list of the upcoming Doha meeting shared with the Islamic Emirate after two months of discussions with the UN, it was decided in principle to participate in the said meeting," Balkhi said on X.

در روشنایی آجندا و ترکیب نشست آیندهٔ دوحه که در‌ جریان نزدیک به دو ماه گفت‌وگو با ملل متحد با امارت اسلامی شریک شده است، امارت اسلامی در اصول تصمیم به اشتراک در نشست آیندهٔ دوحه اتخاذ نموده است. pic.twitter.com/n0IrOFU6q1
— Abdul Qahar Balkhi (@QaharBalkhi) June 16, 2024

He further stated that the country's decision to attend would depend on any modifications made to the agenda and the roster of participants.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, after the US-led military force withdrew from the country.

In the 20 years during which the NATO-led coalition invaded Afghanistan, the Southern-Central Asian country has suffered tremendous destruction at unprecedented levels, leaving it crippled by an excruciating economic crisis and sporadic terror attacks spearheaded by ISIS-K.

The war-torn nation has sought to recover from the damage by forging alliances with global powers, including China and Russia.

In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared the Taliban movement as the legimitate authority in Afghanistan and Moscow plans to remove it from the list of organizations banned in Russia.