MOSCOW – Russia said on Tuesday that the Taliban had accepted an invitationfor talks next month, in what promises to be one of the insurgent group’sbiggest diplomatic forays since the 2001 US-led invasion.
The announcement of the planned talks comes as the Taliban have expandedtheir footprint across Afghanistan and launched an unrelenting wave ofattacks, including a prolonged assault on Ghazni, a strategic city nearKabul, earlier this month.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow invited the Taliban tothe Sept 4 talks and was hoping for “productive” negotiations. “The firstreaction was positive, they are planning to take part in the meeting,” headded.
There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.
Mr Lavrov reaffirmed that Russia’s contacts with the Taliban aimed toensure the safety of Russian citizens in Afghanistan and encourage theinsurgents to abandon hostilities and engage in a dialogue with thegovernment.
He rejected claims by the Afghan government that Russia is hoping to usethe Taliban to combat the militant Islamic State group. An IS affiliate inAfghanistan has staged several devastating attacks in recent years and hasrepeatedly clashed with the Taliban. The IS branch is seen as particularlythreatening to Russia because it includes a large number of battle-hardenedUzbek militants.
“I can’t even hypothetically imagine how Russia could use the Taliban forfighting the IS,” Mr Lavrov said at a news conference. “We fight the ISwith all means available, we support Syria in that struggle, we help equipthe Iraqi army for the same goal and we naturally would like to see thepeople of Afghanistan getting rid of the IS.”