KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Russia will host the eighth round of Moscow Format consultations on Afghanistan on Oct. 5, bringing together regional countries and the Taliban to discuss political, economic and security issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said representatives and special envoys from Afghanistan, Russia, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan would attend the meeting. Belarus and Egypt have also been invited as guests.
The meeting will open with remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Zakharova said.
According to Zakharova, the discussions will focus on political and economic engagement between Afghanistan and regional countries, as well as efforts to strengthen regional cooperation in countering terrorism and illicit drug trafficking. A joint statement is expected to be adopted at the end of the meeting.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, will lead the group’s delegation. He is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of the event to discuss “current aspects of bilateral cooperation,” Zakharova said.
The Moscow Format was established in 2016 as a regional consultative platform focused on political, security and economic developments in Afghanistan. It brings together Russia and several neighboring and regional states.
The seventh round was held in Moscow in October 2025. That gathering marked the first time the Taliban took part as a formal participant after seizing power in August 2021. At last year’s meeting, participants called for stronger regional cooperation against terrorism and drug trafficking and highlighted the importance of expanding economic and trade links with Afghanistan.
The gathering comes as several countries in the region remain concerned about the presence and activities of militant groups in Afghanistan, which they say pose a threat to their security, particularly Pakistan, whose relations with the Taliban authorities have deteriorated sharply since the last Moscow Format meeting, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban of harboring Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The two sides have engaged in repeated clashes since October last year, including Pakistani airstrikes earlier on Thursday that killed and injured several civilians, according to the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, which said it had documented more than 1,100 civilian casualties from cross-border attacks in Afghanistan so far in 2026.
Most countries continue to withhold formal recognition of the Taliban administration in Kabul. Russia became the first to grant official recognition in July 2025. Several regional states, including China, India, Iran and Pakistan, maintain diplomatic or official channels with the group without extending full recognition.
