Moscow to host int’l meeting on Afghanistan

Russia has sent invitations to Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the United States, the ministry said in a press release. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will send a delegation to the meeting and the Political Office of the Taliban in Doha will participate in an international meeting of this level for the first time, it said. The meeting will be opened by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “The Russian side reaffirms its position that there is no alternative to a political settlement in Afghanistan,” the statement read.