There have been no contacts planned in the Kremlin with representatives of the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia), Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Moscow is hosting a conference on Afghan settlement on February 5-6. Invitations to attend the conference have been extended to the Afghan government, opposition and Taliban. The conference is also expected to be attended by delegates from Afghan diasporas from the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, as well as representatives from Iran and Pakistan.
“Such contacts [with Taliban delegates] have not been planned by the Kremlin,” Peskov told journalists adding that all questions regarding the Moscow conference on the Afghan settlement should be addressed to the Russian Foreign Ministry.