KABUL – *Russia said the US will have to drop its opposition to negotiatingdirectly with the Taliban on the eventual pullout of American troops fromAfghanistan or face a grinding and bloody war for years to come, Bloombergreported. *

The US refusal to talk with the group is “why we are at a dead-end,”Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan, ZamirKabulov, said in an interview in Moscow on Friday.

Without such contacts, “the war and bloodshed will drag on for years,” headded.

President Ashraf Ghani in February made a peace offer to the Taliban butthe insurgent group has responded by stepping up attacks. The Taliban onFriday offered members of the Afghan military and security forces anamnesty if they quit “enemy ranks.”

US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has accused Russia ofarming the Taliban, has poured more troops into Afghanistan and waged aseries of air strikes as it seeks to regain the military edge. Russiadenies the allegations though it says it’s in dialogue with the group.

Bloomberg reported that Taliban representatives told Kabulov they won’tmeet with the National Unity Government, which they consider a “puppet”administration, without first holding negotiations with the Americans, whomthey consider as “occupiers.”

A top State Department official in March said talks with the Taliban shouldnot include the US. “We certainly cannot substitute for the Afghangovernment and the Afghan people,” said Alice Wells, the principal deputyassistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs.

“We went through this when Soviet troops were there, it was a very similarpicture,” said Kabulov, who forecasts increasing Taliban control of thewar-torn country. “Another 5,000 or even 50,000 troops won’t help. It’s notgoing to get any better.”

The US charges that Russia is exaggerating the strength of Daesh inAfghanistan to legitimize the actions of the Taliban and counter theAmerican influence there, according to Bloomberg.