Russia will invite Taliban representatives to international talks on Afghanistan on October 20, which it plans to host, Zamir Kabulov, the special envoy for Afghanistan to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said today.
Kabul did not provide additional details about the planned talks.
An international conference on Afghanistan was held in Moscow in March, at which Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan issued a joint statement calling on the warring countries to conclude a peace agreement and end the violence.
Russia is concerned about the possibility of the Afghan crisis spreading to the Central Asian region and the possible penetration of Islamist militants into the territory of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, which Moscow sees as a southern buffer zone.
After the Taliban’s victory in the Afghan conflict, Moscow conducted exercises in Tajikistan and strengthened the equipment of its military base in the country.
President Putin had a telephone conversation with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, during which they discussed the security situation in connection with the recent events in Afghanistan, the Office of the President of Tajikistan said.