Russia calls for "inclusive leadership" in Afghanistan

KABUL: The Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, has said that the priority of the countries in the region is for an "inclusive leadership" in Afghanistan, Tolo News reported. TASS news agency cited Kabulov in a report as saying that Western countries "are putting the cart before the horse," believing that the Taliban must first solve legal issues." "This is not a workable approach."

Kabulov added: "We, the regionalists, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Central Asian countries, and India, believe that the priority should be to create inclusive leadership in Afghanistan. And creating such a leadership structure will lead to the resolution of other very important issues like women's rights in Afghanistan." Suraya Paikan, a women's rights activist, said: "Prior to establishing an inclusive government, the rights of the people must always be taken into consideration."

The envoy also drew attention to another problem. "The second problem, which is the reason we can't get on the same page with the Americans and other Western satellites of America at the moment, is the moral and political aspect. They have essentially stolen the national good of Afghanistan and are withholding more serious sums, that is the over USD 2.5 billion in humanitarian aid allocated to Afghanistan earlier," he added, "We said, 'Until you solve this problem, we principally cannot be on the same team as you, so solve these issues, then we can discuss common approaches for further negotiations with Kabul," Kabulov noted.

The Taliban, however, said it is inclusive, and women's rights are ensured in accordance with Islamic Sharia. Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Taliban said: "At the political level, figures from all ethnic groups and provinces of the nation can be seen in this government, so we are not worried about the inclusiveness of the system, and other nations should not be worried about the structure of the system."

"It can help with Afghanistan's economic opening, and it will increase the environment of trust between the two countries and provide the basis for more dialogues," said Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister of the Ministry of Economy under the caretaker Taliban regime. Kabulov also told TASS on Friday that the meeting on Afghanistan that was held in Doha earlier this month yielded no results, and the West's position at the talks was less than constructive.