United States snubs Russian initiative on Afghanistan conference

The United Sates has ignored an invitation by Russia to be part of a multi-party initiative on strengthening security in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Washington did not send its representative to the major conference held in Russian capital, Moscow, on Friday, much to the dismay of 11 countries attending the meeting to find a solution to the tense security situation in Afghanistan.

Russian officials said an invitation had been sent to Washington for its presence in the highly important meeting. Countries such as China, Iran and Pakistan were represented in the Friday conference.

US officials had earlier justified their failure to attend the conference, saying the Russia-sponsored initiative was meant to assert Moscow’s influence in Afghanistan.

“... it was unclear to us what the purpose was ... It seemed to be a unilateral Russian attempt to assert influence in the region that we felt wasn’t constructive at this time,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Tuesday. Russians said Washington's reasons were incomprehensible.

SS