Russia, China FM attend high-level conference on Afghanistan

The top diplomats from Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan have attended a conference that focused on ensuring regional security in light of the situation in Afghanistan. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the foreign ministers of the four countries met in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and discussed the need to cooperate with Afghan authorities to maintain political stability and to prevent a humanitarian crisis. Russia and China are among a few countries that have kept their diplomatic missions in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, since the Taliban took power in August 2021. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held separate talks Thursday to discuss a range of issues, including the situation in Ukraine.