MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Kabul expects that Moscow will succeed in convincing the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) to come to the negotiating table, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Russia Abdul Qayoum Kochai said at a press conference on Monday.
"Russia has also been maintaining contacts with the Taliban. [Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asia Department Zamir] Kabulov says Russia has contacts with the Taliban. If Russia really wants to help Afghanistan and has the ability to convince the Taliban to sit at the negotiating table with the Afghan government to resolve all issues, it would be good," the ambassador said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Moscow maintained contacts with the Taliban in order to ensure the security of Russian citizens and facilitate the national reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
Kabul would like Moscow to help the reconstruction of Afghanistan’s economy, he said.
"The Americans, Europe, India, Japan and China have been actively assisting us in the reconstruction of our economy, we now have our own army," the ambassador noted.
"We would like Russia to also help us. I always tell our Russian friends: ‘Please come. Afghanistan offers a lot of opportunities, the country has mineral resources’," Abdul Qayoum Kochai stressed.