A spokesman for the Taliban announced that the group will not participate in the upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighbors, which will be held next Wednesday in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The reasons for the absence of a Taliban representative at the conference were not specified.
On Sunday, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Deputy Minister of Information and Culture in the Taliban government, stated that no representatives from the Afghan government would attend the meeting, according to the Afghan "TOLO" news network. The Russian news agency Sputnik reported that representatives of the Taliban, who came to power in Afghanistan, would not attend the upcoming meeting of foreign ministers from Afghanistan's neighboring countries.
Afghan television reported Mujahid as saying, "No representatives from the Afghan government will attend the meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighbors," while simultaneously describing the planned ministerial meeting in Tehran as "good."
**Six Countries**
On October 18, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that six countries—Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—would participate in a face-to-face meeting at the level of foreign ministers in Tehran. The participating parties aim to focus on how to help form an inclusive government in Afghanistan that includes all ethnic groups. The first session was held online on September 8.
According to TOLO, the second meeting of the neighbors of Afghanistan will take place next Wednesday in Tehran, focusing on forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan and achieving peace and stability in the country.
**No Invitation for the Taliban**
However, the Fars news agency reported that the meeting of foreign ministers from Iran, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan will be held in person, noting that the Chinese foreign minister will attend the meeting virtually. It remains unclear at what level Russia will participate in the meeting.
The Iranian news agency stated that "the Taliban were not invited to attend the meeting," but the reason for their non-invitation was not mentioned. During the first meeting of the six neighboring countries held on September 8, chaired by Pakistan, it was agreed to hold the next round of the meeting in Tehran.
In his remarks at that meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced his country's readiness "to provide all opportunities to advance talks among Afghans." The first meeting was attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh stated at his weekly press conference last Monday that a meeting of Afghanistan's neighbors would be held in Tehran. He added that during the first meeting, based on Iran's proposal, Russia would be added to this group, and thus Russia would also attend the meeting of Afghanistan's neighbors in Tehran.
