MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Russian officials have made no statements commending the activities of the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) and have only reported facts about the situation in Afghanistan following the change of government, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

When commenting on a reporter’s remark that positive rhetoric towards the Taliban was coming from Russia, she pointed out that "Russian officials have never used the kind of rhetoric you mentioned." "They made no encouraging statements in relation to the change of government in Afghanistan," Zakharova added. She emphasized that Russia’s evaluations "concerned only the actual situation in Kabul after the Taliban took control of the capital."

"We also reported the positive signals that we received form the Taliban leadership about their plans for the country’s future. We are taking note of such statements that they make," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman emphasized.

Taliban fighters entered Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul on August 15, taking control of the entire city within a few hours. Later, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country. Western nations are now evacuating their citizens and diplomatic personnel from Afghanistan.