German FM Maas calls for talks with Russia and China over Afghanistan issue

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said Russia and China need to be involved in talks on the future of Afghanistan, including on plans for the evacuation of Afghans facing possible persecution by the Taliban.
An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York later Monday would be an indication of whether Moscow and Beijing are wiling to cooperate, he said.
There are efforts underway "to bring all important international partners to the table, and so it will be important that Russia and China are also there," Maas said during a visit to the Uzbek capital Tashkent.
Unlike the other permanent members of the UN Security Council - United States, Britain and France - Russia and China still have embassies open in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Maas is visiting Tashkent as part of a trip to three of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries for talks focussed on continued evacuation efforts.
He will travel to Tajikistan for talks in Dushanbe in the afternoon. On Tuesday he will have meetings in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
The three countries share land borders with Afghanistan and are expected to be among the main first destinations for people fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Germany plans to take in 40,000 people, including former Afghan employees of the German military or government ministries and those in particular need of protection, such as human rights and women's rights activists and their families.
Germany flew more than 5,300 people out of Afghanistan before ending its evacuation mission out of Kabul airport on Thursday.
Maas has promised the three neighbour nations economic and humanitarian assistance prior to his trip.
"It is in our own interest to prevent the collapse of Afghanistan from destabilizing the entire region," he said.
On Sunday Maas visited Turkey, which is playing a role in the reception of refugees.
He will also visit Qatar. The country's capital Doha is home to the political office of the radical Taliban, which effectively functions as the Foreign Ministry of the new rulers in Afghanistan and with which German negotiator Markus Potzel has been conducting talks on evacuation issues for days.
During his Tashkent visit, Maas indicated that a conference on Afghanistan was being planned, to include all of the country's neighbours.