DOHA – The Russian embassy in Kabul announced Monday that its delegation will not participate in the scheduled meeting with Afghanistan’s civil society representatives at the ongoing Doha meeting on Afghanistan.
In a statement, the embassy criticized the selection process of the civil society activists, labeling it as “untransparent” and conducted without Kabul’s involvement.
The embassy noted that the Taliban has endorsed and accepted Russia’s decision to abstain from the meeting. Additionally, the statement highlighted Moscow’s view of the Taliban’s absence from the Doha meeting as a “rational” decision.
The statement elaborated that the Taliban were invited to attend sideline meetings at the Doha conference but chose not to, citing unmet conditions by the summit’s organizers.
The two-day Doha meeting, which started on Sunday, includes four Afghan civil society representatives: Shahgul Rezaee, Mitra Mehran, Mahbooba Seraj, and Lotfullah Najafizada.
