India has huge interest in Afghanistan: Russian diplomat

By
Daily Excelsior
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NEW DELHI, July 14: India has huge interest in Afghanistan and it is for New Delhi to decide its extent of involvement in the conflict-ridden country, a senior Russian diplomat said on Wednesday amidst growing security concerns over the Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas, forcing many countries to scale down their presence there.
Deputy Chief of the Russian mission here Roman Babushkin, at a press conference, also said the Taliban is a “current reality” in Afghanistan and the formation of an inclusive government with representation from all ethnic groups could pave the way for peace and stability in the conflict-ridden country.
Noting that both Russia and India are supportive of the dialogue process in Afghanistan, he said they are actively monitoring the evolving situation in that country.
Afghanistan is going through a critical period and that there is no military solution to it, the diplomat said.
“Taliban is a current reality in Afghanistan. It is a party in the intra-Afghan talks which we believe should be a solution for normalisation and establishment of an inclusive government that should be involving all major ethnic groups,” he said replying to a volley of questions. India has huge interest in Afghanistan and it is for New Delhi to decide its extent of involvement in that country, he said. The Russian diplomat said India has been involved in active regional diplomacy on Afghanistan and described it as “very encouraging”. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled. Afghanistan witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.
The Taliban fighters are rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas in Afghanistan, forcing many countries to scale down their presence there. (PTI)

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