Russia invites Taliban to Moscow for Afghanistan peace talks
Russia announced yesterday that Taliban insurgents have agreed to travel to Moscow next month to take part in talks on peace in Afghanistan.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Photo:RT. |
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had invited Taliban representatives to talks on September 4 and hoped for "productive" talks. "The initial reaction was positive, they plan to attend the meeting,"APquoted Mr. Lavrov as saying.
The Russian Foreign Minister reaffirmed that Moscow's contacts with the Taliban are aimed only at ensuring the safety of Russian citizens in Afghanistan and persuading the rebels to abandon their hostile attitude when negotiating with the government.
Mr Lavrov rejected accusations by the Afghan government that Russia was trying to use Taliban militants to fight the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS). An IS branch in Afghanistan has frequently clashed with the Taliban in recent years.
"I can't even imagine how Russia could use the Taliban to fight IS," Lavrov said. "We fight IS with everything we have, we support Syria in its fight against IS, we help arm the Iraqi army with the same goal and, quite naturally, we would like to see Afghanistan free from IS."
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the meeting on September 4 in Moscow will be attended by representatives from Russia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran and India. The goal is to "help promote the reconciliation process and restore peace to Afghanistan as soon as possible."