Taliban’s Participation in SCO Meetings Depends on Member States’ Consensus: Kremlin

Kremlin’s Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Taliban’s participation in future Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meetings depends on the consensus of the SCO member states.  

Previously, Taliban authorities had asked Shanghai Cooperation Organization to invite the group’s representative to the future SCO meeting to be held in Kazakhstan.

While preparing for the next round of the SCO summit, Dmitry Peskov on Thursday said that the Taliban’s request will also be assessed, Ria Novosti news outlet reported.

Dmitry further emphasized that such decisions need the consensus of all the member states.

On Wednesday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested for not being invited to the 23rd meeting of the SCO council of heads of state.

The 23rd meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of States was chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, July 4, in which Afghanistan issues were also discussed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting said that SCO will focus on Afghanistan because of the tense situation in this country.

In a statement, the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the absence of the group’s representative in such important meetings an obstacle to comprehensive coordination of “humanitarian assistance, implementation of infrastructure projects, cooperation and mutual assurance for the economic connection of the region.”

Meanwhile, Bakhtiyar Hakimov, Russia’s Representative for Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) affairs in a press conference on Wednesday, July 5, said that the Taliban regime has not been recognized due to tangible reasons. Therefore, engagements with Afghanistan’s de facto regime on different issues are informal.

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