All participants confirm participation in Moscow meeting on Afghanistan

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<strong>Russian news agency TASS reported Friday afternoon that all the invited participants in the consultations of the expanded "trio" on a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan scheduled to be held in Moscow on March 18 have confirmed their participation in that event.</strong></p>
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Quoting Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov, the agency said that US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad had also confirmed his participation.</p>
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"Yes, that’s all for now," Kabulov said when asked whether US representatives will take part in the consultations.</p>
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On March 9, Kabulov told TASS that Russia had invited the United States, China, Pakistan, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban group (outlawed in Russia), as well as Afghan political figures, to Moscow for consultations on a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.</p>
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The agency said that Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told reporters at a joint news conference with Russia’s and Turkey’s top diplomats Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu that Doha had received an invitation from Russia to take part in a meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow.</p>
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On March 11, the US Department of State declined to specify whether US officials would take part in the consultations on Afghanistan in Moscow.</p>