Moscow understands the Taliban's claims to the US on the shift of the deadline for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, but will encourage them, including at the Doha meeting, to avoid escalation, Zamir Kabulov, the Special Representative of the Russian President and Head of the Second Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He did not rule out that he might meet with representatives of the Taliban on the sidelines of the April 30 meeting of the expanded troika on Afghanistan in Doha.
"I understand their claims to the US side about the failure to fulfill obligations under the Doha agreement. But at the same time, I have instructions from my leadership to urge the Taliban to contain, to find acceptable solutions with the Americans. They have to find some kind of compromise between them, which should satisfy the Taliban under all the current conditions when they (the US - ed.) do not leave before May 1," Kabulov said.
"Despite the legitimacy and logic of the Taliban's approaches (on the timing of the US withdrawal - ed.), at the same time, we have repeatedly stressed that the priority for us is to launch national reconciliation. We are concerned about this side of things. We wouldn't want this disagreement between the US and the Taliban to undermine that process, which is in our national and geopolitical interest," he stressed.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti