Russia’s Foreign Ministry says the Afghan government and the Taliban have agreed to take part in talks next week in Moscow on the Afghan peace process.
The talks were postponed in August after Afghanistan refused to send a delegation, saying the Taliban should first agree to direct talks with Kabul.
The Friday meeting, which is at the deputy foreign minister level, will include delegations from Afghanistan’s High Peace Council and from the Taliban’s Qatar-based political office, according to a ministry statement on Saturday.
The statement also said the United States, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan had been invited, but did not clarify which countries had accepted.
This comes as reports emerged this week that Russia’s overture to the Taliban angered Afghan government.
Reuters News Agency reported on Friday that Russia has quietly invited a group of senior Afghan politicians to talks with the Taliban in Moscow, bypassing President Ashraf Ghani’s government in a move that has angered officials in Kabul who say it could muddle the US-backed peace process.
