Russia Says Taliban Recognition Currently ‘Not Under Discussion’

 

The Taliban is sending a delegation to Moscow to meet with Russian, Chinese, and Pakistani officials

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onOctober 19, 2021CategoriesNewsTagsAfghanistan, Russia

Ahead of talks on Afghanistan in Moscow, Russia said it was not yet ready to discuss the official recognition of the Taliban.

“Official recognition of the Taliban is not under discussion for now,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. “Like most other influential countries in the region, we are in contact with them. We are prodding them to fulfill the promises they made when they came to power.”

Lavrov also said that Russia agreed with Chinese and Pakistani officials that the three countries would provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. The Taliban will join the officials for talks in Moscow on Wednesday.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Tass that the Taliban delegation plans to ask Russia, China, and Pakistan for economic and political support. “We will ask the countries participating in the Moscow conference, our neighbors, to provide assistance to us, especially in the economic and political-and-diplomatic spheres, so that the countries could demonstrate responsibility and help Afghanistan,” he said.

The US is not participating in the talks but said it plans to join future rounds of discussions with regional countries on Afghanistan. The US has also not recognized the Taliban-led government and has frozen billions in Afghan government reserves as leverage.

For their part, the Taliban have called for the US to establish diplomatic ties and reopen its embassy in Kabul. While they are still withholding recognition, Russia, China, and Pakistan never closed their Afghan embassies.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/10/19/russia-says-taliban-recognition-currently-not-under-discussion/