Russia welcomed peace deal between the US and the Taliban, saying the accord has direct significance for Moscow.
According to report by Russian news agency Tass, Russian Presidential Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said the agreement holds milestone significance for Afghanistan.
“It paves the way for further steps aimed at stopping the war and promoting national reconciliation, which should put an end to the civil war in Afghanistan,” said Kabulov.
“Hence, a link to Russia’s national security interests is evident. Once there is no war in Afghanistan but there is an inclusive Afghan government, it [the government] with the help of the international community will suppress all the hotbeds of international terrorism, let it be ISIS or al-Qaeda and so on. It is directly beneficial for Russia,” he stressed.
Russia is set to deploy observers to the intra-Afghan talks and to help find a compromise between the parties to the conflict, Kabulov said.
“Yes, of course,” he said answering a relevant question. “We have been discussing that with Americans, Pakistanis and Chinese so far. Certainly, we have no right to participate in the negotiation, as they are intra-Afghan talks, but the presence of concerned international players on the sidelines of such meetings will have a certain influence. We will be doing our best to help both Afghan sides to seek an acceptable compromise,” he promised.
Moscow hopes that Afghanistan’s political crisis after the presidential election will not block the implementation of the peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban in Qatar’s capital Doha on Saturday, Kabulov said.
“I hope it cannot derail it, but can complicate the implementation of that agreement. So we are hopeful that this destructive process will end,” Kabulov said.
