ATHENS, October 21. /TASS/. Russia may recognize the government of the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) in Afghanistan on the condition of its inclusivity and observance of human rights, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Thursday.
"The Taliban have come to power, they are controlling the entire country and it is necessary to hold a dialogue with them, it is necessary to meet with them. <...>. Undoubtedly, contacts are also needed in order to convince the Taliban to create a truly inclusive government which would not only include the representatives of those tribes and ethnicities, peoples residing on Afghanistan’s territory, but also all political forces," she told journalists adding that only such a construction would be stable and ensure the peaceful evolution of Afghanistan as a state.
She noted that Russia, just as the entire global community, is urging Afghanistan to "join the ranks of civilized states, guarantee and protect human rights, above all, those of women and children." "The issue of recognition or non-recognition today is not the priority act. I think, that if as a result of this dialogue the Taliban accepts those conditions I mentioned, not just approves in writing but implements in actions, I think that this will be, of course, their recognition since nowadays they are the actual power there," the Federation Council speaker said.
She added that this is a difficult and slow path and everything will depend above all on the Taliban. According to her, the dialogue held on Wednesday within the framework of the Moscow talks on Afghanistan was useful. "Of course, I think, that the important result of the meeting with the Taliban delegation in Moscow was the appeal to the UN, to the international community announcing the humanitarian initiative of support for Afghanistan’s people. Indeed, there is a state of a looming humanitarian catastrophe," the Federation Council speaker explained, adding that she hoped the UN and other countries would support this humanitarian mission.
On Wednesday, the third session of the Moscow talks on Afghanistan was held in the Russian capital. This format emerged in 2017 on the basis of a six-party mechanism of consultations by the special envoys of Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China and Pakistan. As the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement noted following the talks, the participants of the consultations stressed the importance of forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
After the Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces.
On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. On September 6, the Taliban declared a complete victory in Afghanistan and on September 7 formed an interim government which included exclusively the members of this radical movement and predominantly the representatives of the most numerous Afghanistan’s ethnic group, the Pushtu. Due to this, many countries stated that such a cabinet was not inclusive, urging the Taliban to include in it ethnic and religious minorities and women.