MOSCOW – Moscow on Friday hosted international talks on Afghanistan aimedat kickstarting direct negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban militantgroup, both of whom sent delegations.

Russia hopes “through joint efforts to open a new page in the history ofAfghanistan,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said as the talksopened at a Moscow hotel on Friday morning.

He said that the participation of both Afghan leaders and the Taliban wasan “important contribution” aimed at creating “favourable conditions forthe start of direct talks.”

“I am counting on you holding a serious and constructive conversation thatwill justify the hopes of the Afghan people,” he said before the talkscontinued behind closed doors.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP that the militant group wassending five representatives. They will not hold “any sort of negotiations”with the delegation of Kabul administration, he said.

“This conference is not about holding negotiations with any partywhatsoever — rather it is about finding a peaceful solution to the issueof Afghanistan,” he added.

This is the first time that a Taliban delegation is taking part in suchhigh-level international meeting, Russian foreign ministry spokeswomanMaria Zakharova said Thursday.

The Taliban is banned from operating Russia as it is classified as a”terrorist organisation”.

The Afghan delegation is made up of four representatives of the High PeaceCouncil, a government body responsible for reconciliation efforts with themilitants, spokesman Sayed Ihsan Taheri said.

The Afghan foreign ministry has emphasised that the council does notrepresent the Afghan government at the meeting, however.

Moscow said it had invited representatives from the United States as wellas India, Iran, China, Pakistan and five former Soviet republics in CentralAsia.

Pakistan would “definitely” attend, foreign ministry spokesman MuhammadFaisal told AFP.

The US embassy in Moscow was sending a representative to observe thediscussions.

The Moscow meeting was initially scheduled to take place in September butwas postponed after Kabul insisted that the process should be Afghan-led.

The meeting comes at a sensitive time.

Newly appointed US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been trying to convincethe Taliban to agree to negotiate an end to the war and there are fears theRussian meeting could derail those efforts.

A US government watchdog last week said Kabul’s control of Afghanistan hadslipped in recent months as local security forces suffered recordcasualties while making minimal or no progress against the Taliban. -APP/AFP