While the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad was in Moscow to discuss the Afghan peace process with Russian officials, Russia did not give a vote in favor of a UN resolution on Afghanistan’s situation.
The adopted resolution that pledge continued support to Afghanistan in rebuilding state, eliminating terrorism and narcotics and supporting Afghan peace process was approved by the United National General Assembly on December 6.
The resolution, titled The Situation in Afghanistan, was approved by 124 votes in favor and three abstentions from Libya, Russia and Zimbabwe.
Russia’s permanent representative in United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said in the draft resolution, representatives of a number of countries have ignored Russia’s role in pushing the Taliban to the peace negotiations table.
The Russian envoy said the resolution text must reflect the current realities on the ground in Afghanistan and that it should reflect the collective approaches of the international community to find a settlement in Afghanistan.
He said that in the recent versions of the draft, Moscow’s concerns and regional threats have been ignored and that he calls for a vote on the text of the resolution.
“We are disappointed by reluctance of a number of delegations to reflect the rule and outcomes of the Moscow format of consultations which is the important platform for launching focused negotiations to advance the national reconciliation process,” he said.
Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mahmoud Saikal, meanwhile said Kabul will support any effort for bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan and that one of the problems of Moscow Summit was that Russia did not request travel permission for four Taliban representatives to visit Moscow.
The four Taliban representative have been under travel ban by the United Nations General Assembly and that according to Saikal, the representative should have travel ban exemption for their trip to Russia.
“While the Moscow meeting was a development, it occurred in a manner that contradicted the principle of transparency as four Taliban members out of five who traveled to Moscow, did so without a travel ban exemption from the United Nations Security Council Taliban sanctions’ committee,” said Saikal.
According to Saikal, Afghanistan welcomes all efforts for peace but any such efforts must be founded on Afghan-led initiatives.
Reacting to Russia’s representative critics on the text of the draft, Saikal said the draft’s text reflect the international community’s efforts for supporting Afghan people.
Russia has warned that if the UN without considering the realities in Afghanistan make a decision regarding the country, efforts for ending war will deadlock and the UN will lose reputation.