KABUL – Afghan *Taliban has asked for financial support in talks withRussian representatives, Russia’s envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said.*
Kabulov told journalists in Moscow that representatives of Russia and theTaliban scoffed at the allegations that Russia has been arming the militantgroup during their conversations, with the Taliban saying they illegallybuy all the weapons they need from the Afghan government and police andjust need money for that.
“We laughed with Taliban representatives about it, and I’ll tell you why.They (Taliban) say they wouldn’t mind if we gave them weapons, but theydon’t need weapons.
They (Taliban) say “give us money, we’re buying weapons from the stocks ofthe Afghan army and police,” Kabulov said, as quoted by The AssociatedPress.
He added: “They (Taliban) laughed at the rumors that they receiveammunition from Pakistan. It was in the Soviet times – as they say – theMujahideen was delivered weapons, and now they buy everything they need inAfghanistan. If they ask for money, we always answer: ‘Sorry, we have nomoney.”
He said Russia’s contacts with the Taliban aim to ensure the safety ofRussian citizens in Afghanistan and encourage the Taliban to join peacetalks.
“We established the contacts a few years ago when we became seriouslyworried about possible terror threats for the Russian mission and Russiancitizens in Afghanistan,” he said. “It was important for us to clarify theTaliban’s plans regarding our citizens.”
Kabulov said the US claims that Russia was arming the Taliban reflected anattempt to shift blame for what he described as the US failure inAfghanistan.
Taliban is yet to comment on Kabulov’s remarks.