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Russia warns Taliban against monopolizing power in Afghanistan

According to Russia's top diplomat, concerns about the possibility of the Taliban seizing power come, first and foremost, from Western observers

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Moscow has warned the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) against monopolizing power in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.

"We have made it clear to the members of the Taliban that we oppose their attempts to monopolize power," he emphasized.

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Press review: Why the Taliban backed out of talks and Russia wary of Biden’s summit bid

According to Lavrov, concerns about the possibility of the Taliban seizing power come, first and foremost, from Western observers. "However, first, the Taliban themselves have denied such intentions and second, there are Afghan political forces that clearly will not support the Taliban’s forceful takeover of power," the Russian top diplomat emphasized.

On April 14, US President Joe Biden announced plans to start the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in May and complete the process by September 11, yet the former Trump administration had signed an agreement with the Taliban in Doha in February 2020, which said that US and allied troops were to leave the country by May 1, 2021. The Taliban strongly condemned this departure from the agreement, actually making it clear that they considered themselves no longer bound by the obligations under the Doha deal.

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