Moscow calls on Afghan political forces not to obstruct reconciliation process

Moscow has called on the opposing political forces of Afghanistan to focus on reaching national reconciliation, instead of taking steps that exacerbate disagreements, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Commenting on the two parallel presidential inauguration ceremonies that took place in Afghanistan, it urged all responsible political actors in the country “to adhere solely to common national interests.”

The national reconciliation process “should lead to end of the civil war and to the rebuilding of a peaceful, united and independent state, free of terrorism and drug-related crime,” the ministry said on Wednesday.

Moscow believes that the emerging internal political crisis, exacerbated by the two parallel inauguration ceremonies of Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, could undermine the intra-Afghan talks. The prospect of the talks “appeared in the wake of the US-Taliban peace treaty signed in Doha on February 29,” according to the comment.