MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. Moscow welcomes the willingness of the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) to continue negotiations with Washington on a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday.

"We hope that the pause that has occurred will not undermine the parties’ long-term efforts and the substantial progress that has been made at the talks on the Afghan peaceful settlement in Doha. In light of that, we welcome the Taliban’s statements on its readiness to continue the dialogue with the United States and continue to proceed from the need for resolving the situation in Afghanistan by political and diplomatic means," the diplomat stressed.

"We urge the parties to resume negotiations as soon as possible with a view to agreeing on and signing a peace agreement. At the same time, we are certain that curtailing foreign military presence is essential for a lasting peace in Afghanistan," Zakharova added.

Last week, US President Donald Trump tweeted that he had cancelled his meetings with the Taliban’s leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, which were scheduled to be held at Camp David on September 8 because of a terrorist attack in Kabul. Trump also refused to take part in the talks on a peaceful settlement in the country.

Later on, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad had been recalled to Washington. In an interview with the Fox News TV channel, Pompeo expressed hope that the consultations would be resumed but did not specify when this could happen.