MOSCOW, April 14 (DNA): Russian on Friday offered to host intra-Afghan talks in a meeting of regional countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the ways to coordinate regional efforts aimed at facilitating the process of national reconciliation in Afghanistan and bringing peace to the country topped the agenda, the Russian state TASS news agency reported.

Moscow hosted the consultations on the Afghan issue involving representatives of Russia, Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,” the statement reads.

“The US had been invited to take part in the consultations but it refused the invitation for reasons unclear to us,” the statement said.

“The parties had a frank and thorough exchange of views on the current political and military situation in Afghanistan as well as on its prospects and expressed common concern over growing terrorist activities in the country leading to rising tensions and increasing violence which adds to the predicament of the Afghan people,” the statement said.

“The meeting’s participants stressed that there was no military solution to the Afghan crisis while the only way to resolve it was by ensuring a national reconciliation using political methods in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

“The parties reiterated their support for the efforts being made by the Kabul government and the country’s social and political circles which are aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added. “The parties also called on the Taliban leaders to abandon their activities aimed at using military force to resolve the conflict and turn to building direct dialogue on the national reconciliation with the Afghan government.”

“The consultations’ participants welcomed Russia’s proposal to provide a platform for the intra-Afghan talks,” the statement adds. “They called on the global community to continue providing a wide range of assistance to Afghanistan in order to stabilize the situation in the country and help achieve early national reconciliation.”