Valdai Club

The recently convened meeting in Moscow on Afghanistan was noteworthy for the presence of a representative from the Taliban.  This the second meeting sponsored by Russia for addressing a peace settlement for Afghanistan.  Reportedly up to twelve other states attended the latest meeting at varying levels of representation and participation.  The meeting is significant for placing representatives of the Taliban and the Afghan government in the same room.  But the question worth asking is - should the Taliban be in the room at all?

The terrorist attacks in Spain have shown that ISIS is able to spread through the power of its ideology, Richard Burchill, Director of Research and Engagement at the TRENDS Research & Advisory, told valdaiclub.com in an overview.

The conflict between Qatar and other states of the Arab world is unlikely to be resolved shortly, Valdai Club experts say. Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia took the course of confrontation, Egypt has more complaints towards Qatar's foreign policy, which Cairo considers as a threat because Doha supports the oppositional Muslim Brotherhood movement.