In an effort to establish ties with Afghanistan’s new leaders and establish itself as a major player in the area, Russia invited Taliban officials for discussions on regional security on Friday.
Russia hosts Taliban talks: Russia and China have seized the opportunity presented by the US military’ withdrawal from Kabul in August 2021 to engage in negotiations with the Taliban despite significant ideological and historical differences.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a letter to attendees of the discussions held in the city of Kazan, promised that his country would “continue to develop multifaceted contacts with Afghanistan.”
Shortly after US troops withdrew, the Taliban took over Afghanistan and imposed their harsh version of Sharia law while repressing the rights of women.
Lavrov called the US pullout a “complete fiasco” in his remarks and expressed the hope that the West would never go back to Afghanistan or its neighbours.
The return of US and NATO military infrastructure to Afghanistan’s land and the countries that border it, according to Lavrov, is unacceptable.
Along with that, he expressed his hope that Kabul will “do everything to intensify its counter-terrorism and anti-drug efforts,” in response to Moscow’s security worries.
The Taliban, which engaged in combat with insurgent militants for the majority of the 1980s as part of the Soviet-Afghan War, is classified by Russia as a “terrorist organisation.”
Further, Lavrov’s remarks came days after US representatives were hosted by Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan, for discussions on bolstering military ties.
However, In the early 2000s, Uzbekistan let US forces to launch military operations into Afghanistan from its Soviet-era “K-2” air base, and in 2020, it held joint drills with US soldiers.