No Consensus On Taliban's Participation In BRICS Summit, Says Russia

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko announced that the Taliban's request to participate in the BRICS summit has not yet been approved.

Rudenko said that the BRICS countries have not yet reached a consensus for the presence of a Taliban representative in the meeting.

Russian state news agency TASS reported on Thursday (October 3) that Andrei Rondko had said that the invitation to the guests would be done with the consensus of the BRICS countries.

Declaring that there is still no agreement on the Taliban's participation, he added that nothing can be ruled out.

The BRICS summit is scheduled to be held from October 22 to 24 in the Russian city of Kazan.

A few days ago, Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported that the Taliban had sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov asking him to attend the BRICS leaders' meeting. The letter states that Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's deputy prime minister, is interested in attending the BRICS meeting in the city of Kazan.

The main members of the BRICS group include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group expanded with the membership of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia at the beginning of this year.

On Wednesday, September 25, Zabihullah Mujahid told the Taliban-controlled National Radio and Television of Afghanistan that powerful countries in the field of economy are members of the BRICS, and that is why Taliban representatives want to participate in the upcoming meeting. He added that the move could provide more opportunities for Afghanistan.

The Taliban is still considered a terrorist group in Russia. However, Moscow has diplomatic relations with the Taliban, and Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, is currently in Moscow to attend a meeting on Afghanistan. The Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan will be held on October 4.