Russia shows willingness to mediate talks between Taliban and NRF to prevent war in Afghan

In a major development, the Russian envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov on Tuesday said that Moscow is now ready to receive delegates from Afghanistan to discuss the situation in the Taliban-ruled country. The envoy informed that Russia is ready to welcome both Afghanistan’s authorities and opposition forces to conduct talks in order to prevent a war in Afghanistan if they were interested. The announcement came only a day after supporters of the Afghan National Resistance Front (NRF), organised a rally in front of the White House to oppose any moves by UN member nations to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

Speaking in an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Russian envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov said that the Russian officials are ready to host meetings between the fighting groups in Afghanistan. He said that Moscow has repeatedly declared their willingness to welcome the Taliban and its opposition to the country. “As for visits to Moscow by representatives of both the new Afghan authorities and opposition forces, we have repeatedly confirmed our readiness to demonstrate hospitality if they are interested in that,” Kabulov told TASS, as reported by Tolo News.

Russia reportedly mediated a meeting between the Islamic Emirate and NRF

After the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, the National Resistance Force (NRF), led by Ahmad Masoud, the son of late Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, became the last resistant force fighting the Taliban. In the country, both the Islamic State and the National Resistance Front are active. A source close to the NRF told Tolo News that Russia had mediated a meeting recently between the Islamic Emirate and the Resistance Front.

On January 24, it was reported that former Afghan Intelligence Chief Rahmatullah Nabil, Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had arrived in Moscow. However, the meeting is yet to be officially confirmed, and Islamic Emirate officials have neither confirmed nor denied partaking in such a meeting. “There is no official information on hand about the trip of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to any country,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

Earlier in January, in Tehran, negotiations between the NRF and the Taliban ended without a conclusion. Following the fall of Kabul on August 15, the National Resistance Front (NRF) remained the last force opposing the Taliban. In November 2021, the Afghan National Resistance Front had said that more people were joining to fight the Taliban rule, and the NRF had gathered in Panjshir, Kapisa, Parwan, Badakhshan, Balkh, and Baghlan provinces, as per the media outlet.

Russia raised doubts about the Taliban delegation's visit to Oslo

Recently, Norway hosted meetings between a delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Afghan women as well as representatives of several countries in Oslo. Meanwhile, Russia on Monday raised doubts about the delegation's visit to Oslo for a three-day talk with Western envoys. The Russian Foreign Ministry's Second Asia Department Head, Zamir Kabulov stated that the Oslo talks with the Taliban are unlikely to produce beneficial outcomes, according to Sputnik.

Image: AP/ ANI