TALIBAN DELEGATION VISITED CHINA AT INVITATION OF COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT

TALIBAN DELEGATION VISITED CHINA AT INVITATION OF COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT – REPORTS

A Taliban delegation has visited China at an invitation of the country’s government.

Photo: news.xinhuanet.com

Recently, a delegation of the Taliban visited China at an invitation of the country’s government, Pakistani media reported, citing unnamed sources from the pro-Taliban and diplomatic circles.

According to the reports, the delegation consisted of 5 people and was headed by Sher Abbas Stanikzai, the head of the Qatari representation of the rebel movement.

One of the source of the Express Tribune newspaper noted that the Taliban viewed the visit to China as a part of a program to develop relations with other countries, both European and regional. However, the main issue on the event’s agenda was a task of restoring peace in Afghanistan and a prospect of settling the conflict through negotiations.

Pakistani media mentioned that by now, it is not the first visit of Taliban representatives to China. A similar event took place at the beginning of the year, after trilateral consultations on the Afghan issue took place in Moscow with the participation of Russia, China and Pakistan.

In mid-February, Chinese Special Envoy for Afghanistan Deng Xijun visited Kabul. During the meeting with President Ashraf Ghani, the diplomat assured him that the Chinese side made efforts to induce the Taliban to reconcile with the country’s government and start peaceful negotiations with Kabul.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog