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Talks on unfreezing Afghan assets underway, but with difficulties — envoy

The assets in question include $9.5 billion, $7 billion of those being in US Federal Reserve Banks, and $2.5 billion being in World Bank accounts

MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. Russia seeks to persuade the US to unfreeze the Afghan assets, but it feels like the West blocked these funds intentionally in order to manipulate the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia), Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on TV Wednesday.

He explained that the assets in question include $9.5 billion, $7 billion of those being in US Federal Reserve Banks, and $2.5 billion being in World Bank accounts.

"These are money of Afghanistan as a country, not of the Taliban movement," the diplomat underscored. "The talks [on unfreezing of assets] are underway. We seek to convince [Western states to unfreeze them] and, at least, the US administration representative claims that they will do everything possible for those accounts to be unfrozen."

"It looks like this is being done intentionally, in order to coerce the Taliban movement that rules over Afghanistan now to comply with the numerous demands that the West puts forth first and foremost. It is impossible to come up with any other conclusion," Kabulov said.

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