The Afghan government believes that its foreign policy strategy and establishing relations with neighboring countries is successful (Associated Press)

Kabul -

The second round of the United Nations meeting on Afghanistan revealed sharp differences between regional powers and Western countries over the mechanism of dealing with the Afghan government, which has been led by the Taliban since the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, invited the special representatives of 25 countries and regional and international organizations to the Qatari capital, Doha, to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan, where - for the first time - the Taliban was invited to participate in the meeting.

But the United Nations efforts faltered one day before the meeting was held, due to the Taliban’s non-attendance, and the United Nations Secretary-General was unable to announce the Special Representative for Peace Affairs in Afghanistan, due to the position of Russia, China and Iran regarding his appointment and announcement of his name, while the announcement of the representative was one of the most important items. Agenda held in Doha.

Many disagreements

Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki told Al Jazeera Net, "There is a rift in international positions towards Ukraine and Gaza, including Afghanistan. These are political and economic differences between the international community regarding many issues, and this does not mean that the world is divided over Afghanistan. There is international competition and they know how to manage it." “But our position is that we want to build relations with everyone,” and he adds, “The United Nations does not realize the facts on the ground in Afghanistan, and deliberately ignores them.”

Afghan affairs experts believe that the effects of tension and competition over Afghanistan, between Western countries on the one hand and China, Russia and Iran on the other hand, were clear in the Doha meeting, and that the most important provisions of the road map announced by the United Nations were a matter of controversy among the actors, as both Russia managed China is prevented from thwarting the plan of the Secretary-General of the United Nations regarding the mechanism for dealing with the Taliban.

A source in the Afghan Foreign Ministry (who preferred not to be named) told Al Jazeera Net, “It is true that we did not participate in the Doha meeting because of the rejection of our conditions, but Russia, China, and Iran played a pivotal role in supporting our position regarding the appointment of the special representative to Afghanistan, and they referred the matter to the next meeting of the Security Council, and we expect "We ask Russia and China, the two permanent members of the Council, to defend our point of view."

Between West and East

International relations experts say that Russia, Iran, and China oppose the process in which the United Nations wants to play a decisive role on behalf of the United States. Moscow has previously said that it will not support the Secretary-General’s decision to appoint a special representative for Afghan affairs before the Taliban approves it, as there is an agreement to Excluding the West from the Afghan file.

Writer and political researcher Jamil Al-Kouzi told Al-Jazeera Net, “Russia, Iran, and China have taken over the Afghan file, and these countries want to discuss it as a regional package alongside Palestine and Yemen, but the West says that the Afghan issue is separate, and must be a common area of ​​international cooperation, while these countries seek to limit of the American presence in Afghanistan.

The Afghan government accuses the United Nations and Western countries of ignoring what is happening on the ground in Afghanistan, and that it does not take the recent political and security developments seriously, and that it deals with the Taliban movement as a party and not as an official representative of the Afghan people, and it considers the recent moves an attempt to mix the cards in the Afghan file.

Afghan affairs experts believe that Russia, China, and Iran are obstructing the United Nations’ efforts in Afghanistan with the aim of monopolizing the Afghan file, and that what distinguishes these countries from others is that they have embassies and diplomatic headquarters in Kabul, and are able to communicate and coordinate with the Taliban movement.

These countries and the Taliban believe that appointing the UN representative will open the way to intervene in Afghan affairs and impose American and Western positions on the Taliban. Therefore, the Taliban and its regional allies doubt the intention of the United Nations and Western countries regarding appointing the special representative, and the regional powers that interact with the Taliban in various ways do not seem to have A great desire to coordinate its efforts with the United Nations Special Representative.

Former Taliban ambassador Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef told Al Jazeera Net, "We should not expect much from the United Nations in the Afghan file, because it is implementing the American and Western agenda in Afghanistan, and it is a means in the hands of the United States and it cannot be neutral in its positions."

While Afghan sources in the United Nations mission in Afghanistan say that “the United Nations rejected the Taliban’s conditions for participation in the second round, because they are similar in many respects to recognizing the Afghan government formed by the Taliban.”

What then?

After the second round in Doha, the Secretary-General transferred the issue of appointing the Special Representative to Afghanistan to the UN Security Council, hoping that all members would agree to appoint him and announce his name, but the position of Russia and China obstructed the matter again, and the Afghanistan issue returned to the arena of competition between nations. The United States and Washington on the one hand, and Russia and China on the other hand, and the UN Security Council will meet for the third time in the first week of this month, to consider the road map regarding Afghanistan.

A source in the United Nations mission - who preferred to remain anonymous - told Al Jazeera Net, “Despite the Taliban’s insistence on meeting the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Guterres rejected the Taliban’s condition to attend, because he realizes the importance of his appearing in one photo with Taliban representatives,” and added, “I will confess to you.” "The Taliban's non-attendance cast a shadow over the meeting, so he referred the matter back to the Security Council."

Afghan affairs experts believe that the positions of the regional powers and their efforts to establish a friendly relationship with the Taliban constitute a serious challenge to the success of the roadmap drawn up by the United Nations and Western countries for the future of Afghanistan, and that the United Nations is determined to appoint the special representative to Afghanistan whether the Taliban agrees to that or not.

The former foreign forces advisor in Afghanistan, Wahid Faqiri, told Al Jazeera Net, “More meetings similar to the Doha meeting are scheduled to be held, and the upcoming meetings will be held at different levels, and perhaps they will be unlike the first and second Doha meetings, and the United Nations must clarify the role of the special representative in the Afghan file.” Whoever carries out this mission must have the support of the Taliban to make his mission successful.”

Source: Al Jazeera