On Friday, Russia played host to Afghanistan peace talks, with members of both the Taliban and Afghanistan’s High Peace Council attending. US, Pakistani, and Indian officials also attended. the event, though India’s official was “unofficially” there, and the US said they were merely observing.
The talks mark the culmination of months of Russian efforts to get both Afghan and Taliban officials to the table, though no agreements appear to have been made. Indeed, much of the talking was about the idea of having direct talks in the future, and ended in failure.
This is perhaps unsurprising, because in public talks, the Taliban repeatedly have insisted they can’t agree to such talks while foreign forces are occupying Afghanistan. The High Peace Council has similarly been averse to starting peace under present circumstances, and seem to be holding out for some imaginary future where the US has virtually won the war.
Other efforts to get direct negotiations going have been a little more successful in that they’ve occurred behind-the-scenes. This has allowed both signs to privately suggest a willingness to compromise on their demands as part of broader efforts.
Given how poorly the US war is going, there is likely to be much reason for talks to continue, even if everyone is loathe, after 18 years of war, to admit they are real talks. Some Afghan officials believe they need to start making a deal before a calamitous defeat.
No indication that private mertings have been more successful. Results over years clearly show it. So why did both sides sgree to a public meeting, and under auspices of Moscow — their former foe? Could it mean both sides agree in one respect — occupation has to end. And publicly neither party wants to declare victory or defeat, but for sure something brought them together. India is careful not ti stick its nise into a problem and be blamed fior being US proxie. As a member of SCO it cannot do that. Signatories and permanent members are swirn to “do no harm” practice in international relations. Thus it attended to please US, but in unifficial capacity to insure no harm to Miscow efforts. We can pretend these new rules of diplomacy dobnot exist, but they are niwdays part of any initiative where SCO members are present. Afghanistan is an observer state, and given its weakness, cannot be too much berated by US for attempting to sit down with tribes. The real negotiations must have occured way before the merting. In such conditions — nobody just shows up clueless.
This is just a part of Putin’s overall strategy of one-upping the US, the world leader™, which isn’t difficult.