The radical Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation) hopes that Russia will participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan which has suffered as a result of military operations during the last decades, Zabihullah Mujahid, a representative of the radicals and deputy minister of information and culture in the interim Afghan cabinet, said in an interview with TASS.
"We hope to cooperate with all states, foreign investments also play a big role. Russia is an important country economically. Afghanistan was destroyed during the war, Russia and other countries could help rebuild it. We welcome such help and hope for financial support," he pointed out.
"We are trying to establish relations with all countries. First of all, we are talking about diplomatic relations, without which further cooperation is simply impossible. We are negotiating with Russia, mainly on the recognition of our government and the reopening of the embassies [of the two countries as usual]. The resolution of these issues will open the way for further cooperation," Mujahid summarized.
On September 24, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that at the moment Russia, like most countries in the world, prefers to keep a close eye on the Taliban's steps in Afghanistan and how they are fulfilling their promises.
The Taliban began a large-scale operation to take control of Afghanistan after the United States announced in spring of this year the decision to withdraw its armed forces from there.
On August 15, the radicals entered Kabul without a fight and president Ashraf Ghani left the republic. On September 6, the Taliban announced that they were taking control of the entire territory of Afghanistan. On September 7, they announced the composition of the provisional government, which consisted exclusively of members of the radical movement and, for the most part, representatives of the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, the Pashtuns. In this regard, many countries stated that such a cabinet was not inclusive, calling on the Taliban to include the country's ethnic and religious minorities, as well as women.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS