TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -The spokesman for the High Peace Council, Sayed Ihsan Taheri, said on Monday that the council would send four representatives to the meeting, which will focus on kick-starting peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban.
The HPC is a government body responsible for reconciliation efforts with militants.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry, however, did not say whether it would dispatch a delegation to the conference or not.
"We are still negotiating with the Russian officials," spokesman Sebaghtullah Ahmadi said, adding, "We welcome any peace effort that is Afghan-led."
Moscow has also invited representatives from the United States as well as Iran, India, China, Pakistan and five former Soviet republics in Central Asia to take part.
Russia said Saturday it would host the event on November 9 in the Russian capital. The meeting was initially scheduled to take place in September.
Taliban pledge to attend Moscow talks
Senior Taliban officials confirmed on Monday that the Afghan Taliban will join multilateral peace talks hosted by Russia on Friday.
A five-member Taliban delegation led by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai, head of the Taliban's political council in Qatar, will attend.
“The majority of our top leaders showed the willingness to participate in the Moscow peace talks though some of them also expressed their reservations and said it would not give them any benefit on the ground in Afghanistan,” said a Taliban member.
Some Taliban members said the delegation would raise their demands for a withdrawal of all foreign forces, the release of all prisoners and the lifting of a ban on travel.
“This is a very good opportunity and we would like to participate and raise our genuine issues,” said another Taliban official. "We would urge these world powers to help resolve the Afghan issue as per international laws and principles."
The Moscow talks will be held as newly-appointed US adviser to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad reportedly met with the Taliban representatives in Qatar in October with the declared aim of bringing the militant group to the negotiating table.
