MOSCOW, August 27./TASS/. Kabul’s foot dragging on a prisoner exchange with the armed opposition prevents the launch of a national dialogue and raises questions about their interest in a nationwide settlement, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday.
"We urge Kabul to end as soon as possible the process of prisoner exchange and launch a direct dialogue with the armed opposition. We emphasize that any delay in the process of launching intra-Afghan negotiations undermines international efforts towards the settlement in that country and calls into question the interest of Afghan authorities in achieving peace in the country as soon as possible," Zakharova said.
She noted that Afghan authorities were holding back from releasing the remaining Taliban (outlawed in Russia) prisoners, "coming up with more terms for this move."
On August 10, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed a decree on the release of the last group of Taliban prisoners on the list that the Taliban had presented during talks with the US in February. A meeting of the Loya Jirga, the assembly of tribal elders, earlier ruled to release the group though the Afghan authorities had been reluctant to free those militants saying that apart from being Taliban supporters they had also been involved in serious criminal offences.
The US and the Taliban signed the agreement in Qatar’s capital of Doha on February 29. According to the document, up to 5,000 Taliban supporters and up to 1,000 people held by the Taliban need to be released before the launch of intra-Afghan talks.