(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News) KABUL (Pajhwok): Twenty Afghan politicians have been invited to talks in Moscow to find a political settlement to the decades old conflict in Afghanistan in the coming days, but the unity government in Kabul said it preferred direct talks with the insurgents only.
Tass, the Russian state-run news agency, quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying that the talks were unrelated to formal negotiations that the Russian government previously hosted, including a November conference in Moscow hosted by Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov that Taliban representatives also attended.
An Afghan diaspora group in Moscow is organizing the talks on Tuesday and Wednesday and has invited Taliban representatives from the group's political office in Qatar and all major political parties in Afghanistan.
Tass quoted one of the organizers, Akhtar Mohammad Safi, as saying they wanted the Afghan government to attend the talks with all those parties who were interested in the Afghan peace process.
Safi said the Afghan opposition leaders and Taliban representatives in Doha had been invited to the event and said it would become clear later who were attending the talks.
Another Afghan organizer, Mohammad Nadar Shah told Tass news agency that invitations had been sent to representatives in European, central Asian countries, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan . He said if the talks produced positive outcome, they would organize more such talks.
Moscow-based Afghan journalist Omar Nisar told Pajhwok Afghan News that the two-day talks had been named 'Intra Afghan Dialogue.'
He said leaders of major political parties and figures from Afghanistan had been invited to the gathering but a final list of those expected to participant was yet to be issued. He said Afghanistan's current situation, the peace process and other important topics would be discussed.
In Kabul, Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan deputy spokesman Haqmal confirmed receiving invitation to the Moscow talks and said a high level party delegation would attend the event. But he did not name members of the delegation.
Some sources in Kabul said former president Hamid Karzai, HIA leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar, Wihdat party leader Mohammad Mohaqqiq and High Peace Council chief Karim Khalili had been invited on behalf of their parties.
But the government in Kabul opposed the event and said no one on its behalf was attending the talks in Moscow.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Sibghatullah Ahmadi said if the Russians wanted to assist the Afghan peace process, they should invite the Taliban to direct talks with the Kabul administration.
The Taliban have so far formally said nothing about the event.
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