*KABUL – The Russian Embassy in Kabul says Moscow considers the AfghanTaliban as a “political force” and that ready to remove the armed group’sname from its own blacklist.*
Describing the Afghan government as “Kabul State”, the Russiandeputy ambassador to Afghanistan Albert Khorev on Thursday criticized theAfghan government leaders’ stand against the recent Moscow talks.
“Kabul State – instead of positively evaluating the approaches of Russiaand the United States and the reconciliation initiatives of these twocountries – has protested and moved away from the issues, which surprisedus,” Khorev said.
The deputy Russian envoy also said that Russia considers the Afghan Talibanas a political force and that now it is the time to remove the armedgroup’s name from the UN blacklist.
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Khorev stressed that if the UN removed the Taliban from its blacklist, hiscountry would also be ready to clear the Taliban from its own blacklist.
However, the Afghan government has strongly reacted to Russia’s recentpresumption about the Taliban.
