India not invited to ‘extended Troika’ Meet

WHY IN THE NEWS?

India has not been invited Russia led ‘extended Troika meet.

About:

• An extended Troika meet will be held on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan.
• The meeting is expected to be attended by Pakistan, China and the US.
• India also sought to downplay its absence stating that it engages with Russia on the issue of Afghanistan regularly.
• An extended Troika meeting is scheduled to be held on August 11 in Qatar.
• Before this meeting, talks earlier took place on March 18 and April 30.

Why this meeting will take place?

Russia led meeting will be held because the Taliban is still continuing its major offensive in Afghanistan. So, Russia has stepped up its efforts in order to reach out to all key stakeholders in the war-torn countries so that violence can be stopped.  The meeting will also give a push to the Afghan peace process.

Other steps by Russia

Russia has also been holding ‘Moscow Format’ of talks in order to bring peace and create conditions for the process of national reconciliation in Afghanistan. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov also highlighted in Tashkent that, Russia will continue to work with India and other countries to find a solution for Afghanistan.

India’ stands on Afghanistan peace process

At the last Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Dushanbe, India urged Taliban to abide by Moscow format, Doha process (talks in Qatar), as well as Istanbul processes (an initiative of Turkey and Afghanistan) in order to instil peace in Afghanistan. India also asked Taliban to ensure that neighbours like Iran & Central Asia are not threatened by terrorism, separatism and extremism.  In Moscow, India maintained that the basis for the India-Russia-Iran partnership followed in the mid-1990s still remain valid because India asserted that, legitimacy of who ruled Afghanistan cannot be ignored.