📌 Moscow, IRNA – The eighth consultative meeting of the Moscow Format on Afghanistan has kicked off in the Russian capital, with delegations from 12 countries, including Iran, in attendance.
The meeting began on Monday, bringing together senior officials and special envoys from Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, alongside representatives from Belarus and Egypt.
Director General for South Asian Affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Reza Bahrami, is heading a delegation at the Moscow Format that will begin its deliberations following the opening remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government and Pakistan’s special envoy in Kabul—whose countries have experienced cross-border military escalations in recent months—is present at the meeting.
Zamir Kabulov, the representative of the Russian president at the event, said earlier that special attention would be paid during Monday’s meeting to the Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict, announcing Moscow’s readiness to mediate between the two nations to achieve a lasting peace.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali, in a post on his X network, hailed the new round of the Moscow Format Consultative Meeting on Afghanistan, calling it a key step toward regional convergence.
He wrote that lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan will be achieved solely through the formation of an inclusive political structure involving all ethnic groups, reiterating opposition to any foreign military bases or infrastructure in the region.
The Moscow Format, established in 2017 at Russia’s initiative, is a regional mechanism for consultations regarding developments in Afghanistan and the country’s peace process.
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