Moscow calls for restart of SCO–Afghanistan contact group

Russia sees a need to resume the work of the SCO–Afghanistan contact group as the majority of members of the organization support this position, said Russian President's Special Representative for SCO Affairs, Bakhtiyor Khakimov.

Addressing a briefing, Khakimov noted that Moscow maintains stable contacts with Kabul and supports efforts to ensure that these contacts continue to develop and expand, including within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“We proceed from the assumption that the SCO–Afghanistan contact group, which was established back in 2007, should resume its work,” Khakimov said. “And this understanding generally prevails within the organisation.”

He also noted that last September, at the initiative of Tajikistan, special consultations on Afghanistan were held in Dushanbe, one of the outcomes of which was an agreement on “the need to begin studying the possibilities of resuming the work of the contact group.”

“There is a specificity to the work of the contact group, because its co-chairs are, on one side, deputy foreign ministers of the SCO chairing state, and on the other side, Afghanistan,” Khakimov explained. “However, the official recognition of the authorities in Kabul has not yet been carried out by all states. This process is gradually ongoing.”

Consultations among representatives of SCO member states on Afghanistan were held on September 11–12 in Dushanbe under the chairmanship of Tajikistan. Participants exchanged information on cooperation with Afghanistan and discussed the situation in the country.

By Vafa Guliyeva