Russia said Wednesday it will host a multilateral meeting scheduled for November 16 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Special Afghan envoys from China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to attend the gathering of what is known as the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan.
"The discussion to focus on the military-political, socioeconomic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan as well as coordinating efforts to strengthen regional security," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a news conference in Moscow. She shared no other details.
Russian officials have confirmed that there will be no participation by Afghanistan's Islamist Taliban government at the talks, even though it took part in the last session of the Moscow format meeting held in October 2021.
