Moscow will Host a Meeting with the Taliban on Afghanistan Today

Moscow will host today an international meeting on Afghanistan with the participation of the Taliban, AFP reported.

The agency notes that Russia, which presents itself as a guarantor of stability in Central Asia, will use the forum to signal to the Islamist movement its concern about the rise of jihadist groups, and will stress the danger of a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

This will be the first meeting of its kind since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan just over two months ago. According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a dozen countries will take part in it, including China, Pakistan and Iran.

The meeting testifies to the inclusion of the Taliban in the diplomatic equation for Afghanistan, after their participation in meetings in Qatar with Western representatives and in Turkey last week, AFP notes.

The delegation of the new Afghan rulers will be led by Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, who participated in the negotiations for the withdrawal of the US armed forces from the country.

The meeting in Moscow will strengthen the status of the Taliban at the head of Afghanistan, said the movement's spokesman Zabiula Mujahid.

However, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the main topics of the forum will be the "politico-military situation in Afghanistan" and the formation of a more representative government in that country.

The meeting is "an attempt to understand what is happening," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Last week, President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials expressed concern about whether the Taliban were capable of stabilizing Afghanistan and preventing jihadist groups with cross-border ambitions from establishing a lasting presence in the country,...