Russia’s envoy for Afghanistan backs idea of interim government

Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Wednesday that the Afghan crisis could be settled through the establishment of an interim coalition government, Anadolu Agency reported.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Zamir Kabulov said: “When neither side can prevail, the conflict usually ends with political compromises.”

“The formation of an interim government is not only realistic, as far as we understand with the Americans, Pakistanis, and Chinese partners, there is no alternative to it. We all know perfectly well from the history of other conflicts and civil wars in other countries that when neither side can prevail, usually such a conflict ends with the finding of political compromises,” he said.

“In this sense, we are talking about the need for a coalition provisional government, because both sides must stop killing each other and find a formula for joint governance of the country,” he suggested.

However, this does not mean that the Troika plus on Afghanistan – Russia, China, the US, and Pakistan – would force the Afghan sides to it, Kabulov added.

The envoy said hostilities in Afghanistan also depends on the fulfillment of the US-Taliban agreement signed in February last year in Doha.

He also suggested the agreement could be terminated and a new one drawn up that includes new terms.

Discussing last week’s two-day meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow, he said the meeting had been convened to push for the resumption of talks in Doha which had stalled.

Another reason for the meeting was to find ways to stop the spring offensive by the Taliban which always sees an escalation in violence, Anadolu Agency reported.

“Whether we have been able to do this, the near future will show,” he said, adding that the Taliban delegation led by Abdul Ghani Baradar will present the consultations at the conference to its top leadership and “it will consider these issues.”

Anadolu Agency reported that Kabulov stressed the important role of Pakistan in the intra-Afghan peace talks.

“Pakistan is making very active and constructive efforts, and we have agreed to continue and deepen our cooperation. Pakistan is one of the key players, and the Pakistanis are doing a lot to attract Iranian partners to these negotiations. And we very much look forward to the continued, equally active role of Islamabad,” he said.

Iran, if it joins, can play a major role, Kabulov said.

“Iran can play a significant role if it gets involved. Of course, we can do this without Iran, but the presence of Iranians at this table is felt, and I hope that in the very near future the Iranian partners will join this work, and we will work in full force,” he said.