Moscow, Tehran represented at meeting in India devoted to Afghan crisis

Diplomats and Indian civilians from Afghanistan at Jamnagar airport in western India in transit to New Delhi on August 17, 2021 after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

REUTERS - STRINGER

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

India organized this Wednesday, November 10 an international meeting on security concerning Afghanistan.

Russia, Iran and five Central Asian countries are participating.

The big absentees were Pakistan and China.

Advertising

Read more

With our special correspondent in Bangalore, 

This is the third meeting of this type since 2018. But it has a special resonance.

Since the Taliban took control of Kabul in August, India has been very worried.

New Delhi had supported the government of Hamid Karzai to make Afghanistan an ally country and a counterweight to Pakistan.

India today finds itself helpless in the face of the new situation in the region.

► To read again: In Afghanistan, 72 Sikhs and Hindus prevented by the Taliban from leaving for India

It is therefore the very strategic special security adviser Ajit Doval who received eight regional actors on Wednesday.

Senior geopolitical officials from Russia, Iran, as well as Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

At the end of the meeting, the participants affirmed their support for a stable Afghanistan and their concern for minorities and women.

► Read also: India cancels thousands of visas issued by its embassy in Afghanistan

Behind these statements, many absent at this meeting.

Pakistan declined the Indian invitation, calling the meeting harmful.

China did so more politely, citing timing issues.

In fact, this summit reveals the extent of the dissension in the region.

China and Pakistan plead for a dialogue with the Taliban.

The two countries will for their part meet the new Minister of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Thursday, alongside the United States and China.

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• India

• Afghanistan

• Hamid Karzai

• China