In an unexpected turn of events, India has joined the Taliban, Pakistan, China and Russia to oppose US President Donald Trump’s bid to take over the Bagram air base in Afghanistan. This comes days before the scheduled visit of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi later this week.

While not naming Bagram, a sharply worded joint statement issued by participants of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan said on Tuesday: “They (the participants) called unacceptable the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighboring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability.”

The seventh meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan was held in Moscow at the level of special re

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