Russian FM says dialogue with Taliban necessary

Developing a working dialogue with the Taliban as the dominant internal political force in Afghanistan is in the interests of the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said On June 6, speaking at the Russian-Tajik University.

"In our conviction, building a working dialogue with the Taliban as the currently non-alternative dominant internal political force in Afghanistan is in the interests of security and economic development of the region, as well as the goals of inter-Afghan national reconciliation, which the current authorities in Kabul are constantly pushing for," Lavrov said, TASS reports.

The minister stressed that until certain conditions are met, Moscow cannot talk about officially recognising the Taliban government.

"As I said, these commitments included forming an ethnopolitically balanced government, stepping up measures to combat terrorism and drug trafficking, and ensuring basic human rights for all peoples living in Afghanistan, including Tajiks. In our contacts with representatives of the Taliban, which are quite regular, we encourage them to speed up the solution of these tasks announced to the whole world," he added.

The Taliban are a predominantly Pashtun, Islamic fundamentalist group that returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after waging a twenty-year insurgency. 

Following the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the original regime in 2001, the Taliban regrouped across the border in Pakistan and began taking back territory less than ten years after their ouster. By August 2021, the Taliban had swept back into power. Their swift offensive came as the United States withdrew its remaining troops from Afghanistan as outlined in a 2020 peace agreement with the group.