A meeting among top Foreign Ministry officials from China, Pakistan, and Russia will be held in Moscow on Tuesday. The meeting will review what the three countries see as a growing threat posed by Islamic State (IS) extremists based in Afghanistan.

"This is an existing forum for undertaking informal discussions on issues of regional peace and stability, including the situation in Afghanistan," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, said.

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Officials from the three countries said that the efforts by IS affiliated groups to establish a presence in Afghanistan drove the three countries to action. However, Afghanistan's Ashraf Ghani-led national unity government is reportedly skeptical of the motives behind the Moscow meeting, for which it was not invited.

Russian officials, however, insisted that the "working group on Afghanistan" is one of the many initiatives that Moscow has undertaken with regional governments, including Kabul. They want to develop a wider partnership to contain IS influence.

The three participants said that the talks will also try to come up with ways to bring peace between the Taliban and the Afghan government. The three governments maintained covert communication channels with the Taliban.

Russian and Pakistani officials said that US-led military campaigns have not weakened the Taliban. According to the officials, the military offensives have instead created ungoverned areas where terrorist groups such as Daesh can establish their operations.

Last week, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, told the UN Security Council that the worsening situation in Afghanistan has allowed IS fighters to flee Syria and seek refuge in the war-torn country. He said that his government has information about the presence of IS camps and save harbors in Afghanistan, adding that at least  "700 terrorists have already arrived (in Afghanistan)."

Churkin dismissed Afghan and US concerns over Russia's ties with the Taliban, saying that Moscow's contacts with the insurgents are limited to the task of providing security to Russian nationals living in the country. He added that Russia is trying to move the Taliban towards joining the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan. 

Future meetings could also involve Iran.

TagsIslamic State group, Russia, Taliban insurgents