Russia on Wednesday (March 10) refuted Indian media reports suggesting that Moscow had proposed a plan that kept New Delhi out of the Afghan peace talks.
On the contrary, Russia is of the view that India has a very significant role to play in the war-torn nation, the Russian Embassy in New Delhi clarified.
The Indian Express on March 9 reported that India had finally joined the list of six countries to decide on the roadmap being prepared for peace in Afghanistan. It said the mechanism was suggested by the US while Russia purportedly suggested keeping India of it.
The Indian Express quoted sources as saying that in light of the growing ties between Russia and China, Moscow had decided to keep China, the US, Pakistan, and Iran on the dialogue table, while keeping India out of it.
According to officials speaking to the newspaper, it was done at the behest of Pakistan, which has never wanted India to be part of any roadmap for the Afghanistan region.
However, Russia on Wednesday dismissed all such reports, saying that it has “always stated that India plays a very important role in Afghanistan, and its eventual deeper involvement in dedicated dialogue formats is natural”.
The Russian Embassy clarified that the information obtained by the Indian media regarding Moscow’s decision to keep New Delhi out was based on ill-informed resources.
“The publication, in the Indian media claiming that Russia allegedly ‘kept India out’ of the international efforts for the Afghan peace process, which seems to be based on ill-informed sources,” said the embassy.
It stressed that the two nations are on the same wavelength on all global and major issues, including the Afghan peace process.
“Dialogue between Russia and India has always been very close and forward-looking on all global and regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan. It has been intensively maintained in bilateral and multilateral formats, including the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, Moscow consultations, etc,” said the Russian Embassy.
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