Shakib Mustaghni, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said in a press conference on Saturday that Russia has shown its willingness to host peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Representatives from Afghanistan, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and India attended the Moscow meeting on Friday.

Mustaghni said participants at the Moscow meeting had asked the Taliban to end the war and join the peace process.

“They [the participants of Moscow meeting] have asked the Taliban to cut their ties with other terrorist groups, lay down their weapons and come to the negotiation table with the Afghan government,” he said.

According to him, a session about a regional consensus on peace in Afghanistan would be held in Kabul in the near future.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry commented on the session and said it was a force which had the responsibility to fight the war against the Taliban.

“We will use our latest facilities to eliminate those who commit subversive activities against peace, national security and sovereignty of the country,” the defense ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said.

The United States was reportedly invited to the Moscow meeting but Washington turned down the invitation.

“Maybe the United States will not have the assurance about the issues in the session that whether they are pro or against their [U.S] goals. However, it is believed that the U.S will have a common thought with the region in the upcoming meetings,” said Zia Rafat, a university lecturer, commenting on the absence of U.S at the meeting.