SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Russia invites Taliban, Afghan officials to Moscow meet
Kabul, May 27 (AFP) May 27, 2019
Afghan politicians are set to attend a two-day meeting with the Taliban in Moscow this week, officials confirmed Monday, as fighting continues to rage in Afghanistan amid troubled peace talks between the US and the militants.

The meeting -- set to run the 28th and 29th of May -- will mark the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a 14-member delegation was heading to Moscow, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group's top political leader.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's chief negotiator and former deputy minister of foreign affairs, will also attend, Mujahid said in a statement.

From the Afghan political establishment, former president Hamid Karzai is set to make an appearance, with his spokesman Yousof Saha suggesting the Afghan and Taliban delegations might meet on the sidelines for informal talks, but he noted nothing was guaranteed.

And a spokesman for Afghanistan's high peace council -- tasked with helping facilitate peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban -- will attend, said Karim Khalili, who heads the body.


The potential talks would mark the second time leaders from the militant movement have met with opposition leaders in Russia, following a rare summit in February that saw the former foes praying together and chatting over meals.

However, no representatives from President Ashraf Ghani's administration were at those informal talks, spurring fears he was being further sidelined in the ongoing peace process.

The latest meeting in Moscow comes weeks after a sixth round of talks between the US and Taliban wrapped in Doha with no tangible progress cited by the negotiating teams.

The Taliban have said peace negotiations were stumbling over the fundamental question of when foreign forces would depart Afghanistan.

The US however has refused to agree to a withdrawal as part of an eventual deal until the Taliban put in place security guarantees, a ceasefire, and other commitments including an "intra-Afghan" dialogue with the Kabul government and other Afghan representatives.

The Taliban have a political wing in Qatar and in recent weeks have met with Roland Kobia, the EU's special envoy for Afghanistan, as well as German special envoy Markus Potzel.

Moscow appears to be gaining influence in the ongoing process, with the US announcing last month that Washington had reached a consensus with China and Russia on the key formula for a peace deal it is negotiating in Afghanistan.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining
NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center for Moon, Mars Missions

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Solar ghost particles seen flipping carbon atoms in underground detector
Overview Energy debuts airborne power beaming milestone for space based solar power

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.