Russia renews call for unfreezing of Afghan assets

KABUL (Pajhwok): Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Russia's Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov have discussed political and economic ties between Kabul and Moscow.

At a meeting here on Tuesday; the two sides conferred on the upcoming UN special envoys’ meeting on Afghanistan and regional issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a statement.

Muttaqi appreciated Russia’s supportive position on Afghanistan at regional and international forums and emphasised on further strengthening political and trade relations between the two countries.

He said Afghanistan’s relations with regional countries were in a state of expansion. Currently, he added, Afghanistan’s embassies were active in many countries.

Muttaqi insisted there was no need for the appointment of a new UN special representative in the presence of an independent central government in Afghanistan.

He said the caretaker government in Kabul was engaged with the United Nations and would spell out its stance after obtaining enough clarification about the agenda of the upcoming UN-led meeting in Doha.

Kabulov, who arrived here on Tuesday, called for getting Kabul’s consent on any meeting on the situation in Afghanistan.

The Russian diplomat called upon the global fraternity to engage with the Afghan government through bilateral, not multilateral, mechanisms.

He went on to renew Russia’s call for the US to immediately release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and lift unilateral and illegal restrictions on the Afghan banking system.

“The sides underscored the necessity for the immediate and unconditional unfreezing of Afghanistan’s assets with their subsequent handover to the central bank," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Kabulov met Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs Maulvi Abdul Kabir, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to the ministry in Moscow.

"The main topics on the agenda were the further development of diverse bilateral cooperation in the political and economic areas, the establishment of regional cooperation with Afghanistan within the framework of the Moscow format," it added.

Russia and Afghanistan needed to improve coordination, suggested the visiting envoy, who hoped Muttaqi would visit Moscow during the current year.

kk/mud