NEW DELHI (CU)_After six months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy, Washington has suggested for India to join five other countries to decide the roadmap for peace in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported.
The Afghan media outlet published a letter sent by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, in which he proposed a meeting convened by the UN with foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, the US, India, Iran and Pakistan. The purpose of the meeting is said to be to discuss a unified approach to support peace in the South Asian country.
Meanwhile, Indian media companies have reported sources which claim that representatives from Russia have not been in favour of New Delhi’s inclusion, as Moscow recommended that Russia, China, the US, Iran and Pakistan should be at the table instead.
Nevertheless, several visits by top officials from Kabul to India, including visits by Afghan vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum and chair of Afghan High Peace Council Abdullah Abdullah, over the last year, laid the groundwork for India’s inclusion in the discussion. Moreover, New Delhi’s strategic investment in developing the Chabahar port as an access to Afghanistan is also said to have worked in favour of India.
Experts say that the Blinken’s proposal is an acknowledgement of India’s proactive role in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration also made several other proposals in Blinken’s letter, including a call for holding talks between Afghan leaders and the Taliban in Turkey, to negotiate a revised proposal for a reduction in violence, as well as a request to US Special Envoy on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad to share written proposals with both parties to help accelerate discussions.
