VOA常速英语:莫斯科期望主持阿富汗会谈

This meeting is part of Russia’s effort at playing a more proactive role in Afghanistan for the first time since its invasion of the country in 1979.And the role has been controversial right from the start.

The last conference Moscow hosted on Afghanistan in December included only China and Pakistan.The Afghan government was not having.

This conference includes Afghanistan along with India and Iran, but excludes the United States and NATO.

Many are looking at this in a context of tense relations between Russia and the US.

In a recent Senate Arm Services Committee hearings,Chair Senator John McCain said Russia was propping after the Taliban to undermine the US.

Some regional analysts though are looking at this conference as a positive development.

“This framework doesn’t include all the regional players that have a major stake in Afghanistan.And as I mentioned earlier, terrorism is a global phenomena,but I think regional countries need to play a more proactive role.”

Russia is primarily focused on the presence of the militant group--Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan.

Moscow does not want its influence to spread to the Muslim population in the Caucasus bordering, Russia.

Still, expectations from this conference are low for a concrete result according to Omar Samad who spoke via Skype,“The fact that three countries are added the list at this point for the first time,means that it still going to be initial stages of getting to know each other,and getting to hear each other’s narrative, try to be sensitive.I don’t see anything big coming out of this.”

Several similar efforts have fallen victim to the tension and mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Whether this process succeeds all depend on Russia and China’s ability to convince the two to work out their differences.

This is Marks Harden, VOA news.