Moscow took centre-stage for a six-nation conference on Afghanistan’s security future in the region, hosting India, Iran, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan, on Wednesday, and cutting out the U.S., Europe and NATO from its deliberations. The meet follows from a previous conference two months ago when Russia invited only Pakistan and China, drawing protests from Afghanistan and India. Part of solutionUnlike India and Afghanistan, which believe Pakistan is part of the problem, and voiced their concerns at the Moscow conference, Russia and China believe it is part of the solution. After decades of shunning military ties with Pakistan, Moscow has doubled down on increasing engagement with Rawalpindi. Shia-Sunni faultlineThat leaves Iran, which is often seen to be a silent stakeholder in Afghanistan security, given the Shia-Sunni faultline.

Source: The Hindu February 18, 2017 18:10 UTC