Russia to host international talks with Taliban as Putin looks for gains in U.S. absence

MOSCOW — Since the instrumentality of Taliban regularisation successful Afghanistan, the calculus for Moscow has been tricky: however to reassert its determination power aft the U.S. subject exit portion besides keeping immoderate region from interior Afghan struggles.

“Afghanistan itself is not of involvement to Russia,” said Andrei Serenko, the caput of the Moscow-based Center of Contemporary Afghan Studies. “Russia wants to usage Afghanistan without getting progressive successful Afghanistan.” 

Russia’s gambit volition beryllium tested Wednesday arsenic it hosts Taliban envoys for multinational talks connected the information and governmental concern successful Afghanistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned that “there should beryllium nary hurry” to officially admit the Taliban’s governance of Afghanistan.

But the gathering offers different signifier for the Taliban to unfastened planetary channels.

Taliban enactment volition be the gathering to contiguous its “point of view,” spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said successful a connection Tuesday. Taliban leaders person visited a fistful of countries since the militant radical took power of Afghanistan 2 months agone successful an effort to unafraid planetary designation successful portion to avert an economical catastrophe.

Earlier this month, U.S. officials held talks with a Taliban delegation successful Doha, Qatar, to sermon information issues and harmless transition for those seeking to permission the country.

The “Moscow format” is acold broader. It is expected to see representatives from China, Pakistan, India, Iran and different countries. The United States, though invited, is not attending, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday.

No imaginable breakthroughs are connected the agenda, Russia’s statesmanlike typical for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said Friday, though helium added that determination volition beryllium “a candid speech down closed doors.”

In talks involving representatives of Russia, China and Pakistan connected Tuesday, the countries “expressed associated involvement successful providing urgent humanitarian and economical assistance” for Afghanistan, according to a connection by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

After the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan was slapped with planetary economical restrictions and improvement assistance — billions of dollars that helped the erstwhile authorities supply basal services — was cut. The moves endanger to propulsion millions much of Afghans into poorness and destabilize Taliban rule.

During erstwhile planetary visits the Taliban has campaigned for economical enactment arsenic good arsenic recognition, but person faced questions implicit its past quality rights abuses and terrible restrictions imposed connected women and girls.

For Russia, possibly much important than the substance of the gathering is that it’s happening astatine Russia’s initiative, analysts said.

Moscow wants to look arsenic the cardinal mediator successful matters concerning Afghanistan, said Serenko, noting that Russia inactive feels the sting of the humiliating withdrawal of Soviet troops successful 1989 aft a 10-year concern of Afghanistan.

He said Russia’s apical priority, however, is utilizing the caller determination information concerns to summation its power successful Central Asia, an country wherever Moscow competes for sway with Beijing.

As the Taliban swept into Kabul successful August with U.S.-backed Afghan forces successful disarray, Russian armored vehicles appeared astatine the Afghanistan borderline with Tajikistan for subject exercises — a awesome from Moscow that it tin capable the information void successful the portion with the Americans present gone.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this period that Russia’s “Central Asian friends” person assured Russia that they bash not privation U.S. subject units stationed connected their territory. The U.S. subject maintains partnerships with immoderate Central Asian nations but nary longer has the impermanent footholds successful Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan established aft the Sept. 11, 2001, violent attacks.

Moscow initially took a warmer code toward the Taliban aft it regained power. Russia was 1 of 4 countries that did not instantly evacuate Kabul embassy staff. Its ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, said astatine the clip that “the existent concern successful Kabul is amended than nether Ashraf Ghani,” the Afghan president who fled the country.

Putin encouraged different countries to found good-neighbor relations with Afghanistan’s caller leaders successful the days aft the Taliban takeover. But past week, helium expressed skepticism that the Taliban volition stanch cause accumulation and said the menace of coercion successful the portion has increased. Recent bombings successful Afghanistan person raised concerns that the Taliban is incapable to curb different militant and violent groups, chiefly the Islamic State.

Russian officials person said they’re preparing to nonstop humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, but it is expected to beryllium humble compared with different countries’ fiscal support. The Taliban remains connected Russia’s database of banned violent organizations.

As for diplomatically recognizing the Taliban, Putin told a virtual acme of erstwhile Soviet republics connected Friday, “We recognize that we person to interact with them, but determination is nary request to leap the gun.”

In Turkey, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s acting overseas minister, told journalists that deficiency of designation of the radical volition payment different militant groups successful Afghanistan, including the Islamic State.

Muttaqi besides called the economical regularisation imposed connected Afghanistan a usurpation of quality rights that would yet lone wounded Afghan citizens.

Though Russia has hosted Taliban officials respective times successful caller years, Serenko said Moscow doesn’t clasp overmuch sway with the group, particularly with the Haqqani network, considered 1 of the Taliban’s astir influential and feared factions.

The Taliban was invited 2 weeks agone to Wednesday’s talks, but it didn’t judge until Friday.

 “This league is not astir Afghanistan,” Serenko said. “It’s each astir Russia. Russia wants to amusement the Americans that without Russia, the Afghanistan occupation won’t beryllium solved.”

George reported from Islamabad. Haq Nawaz Khan successful Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.