A day after Taliban political envoys held talks in Iran on the fragile peace process, senior representatives of the group’s political office met senior Russian officials in Moscow, the Taliban and Russia officials said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan and Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asia Department Zamir Kabulov held consultations with a delegation of the Taliban Movement.
“The Russian side spoke out in favour of launching substantive and constructive intra-Afghan talks as soon as possible so as to put an end to the bloody civil war and create an effective national government in Afghanistan,” said a Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement posted on the website.
The Taliban representatives expressed appreciation of Moscow’s active efforts towards national reconciliation and Russia’s role and potential in helping the Afghan people build a peaceful, independent and economically self-sufficient state, according to the statement.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem tweeted that Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, deputy chief of the Qatar office, and the accompanying delegation, met with Kabulov, his deputy and some other administrations of the foreign ministry in the foreign ministry of Russia.
“Alongside the issues related to both countries, the ongoing situation of the Intra-Afghan negotiations and subjects concerning the full implementation of the Doha agreement was discussed during the meeting,” Naeem said.
He said Russia assured its support for restoring peace in Afghanistan and the two sides exchanged views, suggestions and proposals regarding the issue.
The Taliban representatives have stepped up diplomatic efforts to secure support at a time when intra-Afghan negotiations face a stalemate and the new American administration has hinted at a review of the Doha agreement signed in February last year.
Naeem earlier told Daily Times that Taliban have no concerns at the US announcement of a review or to understand the deal as the ministers are new. “But if they (Americans) want to do something else then we will see,” he said.
The Taliban political office and Russia had close contacts for years and Russia hosted two intra-Afghan talks in Moscow in 2019 and earlier invited the Taliban to a conference of 11 regional countries as part of its active role in the Afghan peace process.
Kabulov, considered to be the man behind Moscow’s strong connections with Taliban, had met several times with the Taliban political envoys in Qatar. The Taliban political representatives had also visited Pakistan in October and met Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the peace process.
