0 Comment(s) *
* The moderation of comments is automated and not cleared manually by indianexpress.com.
NSA Ajit Doval with other dignitaries during their meeting, in New Delhi, Tuesday (PTI) As Russia issued its own statement on the NSAs’ meeting on Afghanistan, there were at least five differences from the Delhi Declaration — a joint statement on the meeting signed by all eight participating countries — that was issued hours earlier Wednesday.
The meeting, chaired by NSA Ajit Doval, was attended by Russian NSA Nikolai Patrushev.
The Indian Express takes a look at how the two statements differed.
*The Delhi Declaration condemned in the strongest terms all terrorist activities and reaffirmed their firm commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including its financing, the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and countering radicalisation, “to ensure that Afghanistan would never become a safe haven for global terrorism”. The Russian statement said the sides reaffirmed their firm commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms but it did not mention “ensure that Afghanistan would never become a safe haven for global terrorism”.
*The Delhi Declaration emphasised the importance of ensuring that the fundamental rights of women, children and minority communities are not violated. The Russian statement, while emphasising the importance of ensuring the rights of women, children and minorities, did not call them “fundamental” rights or that they are “not violated”.
NSAs of Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan participated in the meeting held in Delhi, chaired by NSA Ajit Doval. (Twitter: @MEAIndia) *The Delhi Declaration called for a collective cooperation against the menace of radicalization, extremism, separatism and drug trafficking in the region. The Russian statement made no mention of collective cooperation on these issues.
*The Delhi Declaration said that recalling the “relevant UN Resolutions on Afghanistan”, the participants noted that the UN has a central role to play in Afghanistan and that its continued presence in the country must be “preserved”. The Russian statement said they noted that the UN plays a central role in Afghanistan and the permanent UN presence in the country must be “maintained”.
*While the Delhi Declaration said they will hold the next meeting in 2022, the Russian statement did not commit to a timeframe. It said participants agreed to continue interaction on the Afghan issues within this format.
It is important to note that Russia is likely to attend the Troika plus meeting with Pakistan, China, US and the Taliban in Islamabad on Thursday — a development watched closely by New Delhi.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd