Russia Invites Taliban to Regional Summit in MoscowGabrielle Reyes 8 Oct 2021
Russia has invited the Taliban to attend an October 20 meeting in Moscow alongside representatives from China, India, Iran, and Pakistan to discuss the geopolitical situation in Afghanistan, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Thursday.
Russia’s presidential envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, was asked by reporters at a press briefing October 7 if the Kremlin had invited a Taliban delegation to the upcoming summit.
“Yes,” Kabulov replied, as quoted by the Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti. Kabulov referred to the October 20 talks as a “Moscow format” meeting. He did not specify who would represent the Taliban in its delegation.
In addition to the Taliban, “various other Afghan parties” will also be invited to the talks, the Associated Press reported October 7.
Asked by journalists at Thursday’s press conference if Russia plans to send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, Kabulov said, “This is being worked out.”
He added that Moscow was collecting “cargo” to ship to the impoverished country, which previously relied almost entirely on U.S.-backed funding for food and essentials.
The Taliban, a hardline Sunni group, seized control of Afghanistan on August 15 by ousting the country’s U.S.-backed government from Kabul amid a Western troop withdrawal to end a nearly 20-year-long war.
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