Moscow urges Afghanistan's armed opposition to sever all relations with IS, Al-Qaeda

MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. The armed opposition in Afghanistan should sever its ties with the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda terrorist organizations (both banned in Russia), the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry has also urged the warring parties in Afghanistan to renounce violence during the holy month of Ramadan.

"We have to state that military-political situation in this country remains very tense. The Taliban movement continues military actions in several provinces of the country," the foreign ministry said. The ministry noted that "the Taliban widely uses terror against their own compatriots, and mostly civilians become its victims." "The Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization (banned in Russia) also remains active," it added.

"The process of national reconciliation has in fact stalled. The attempts made by the four-party contact group that includes representatives of Afghanistan, Pakistan, United States and China, to motivate the Taliban to move toward reconciliation with Kabul, have brought no results for far," the foreign ministry noted.

"We call on the warring Afghan sides, first of all the new leadership of the Taliban movement, to remember that the Ramadan is the month of moral improvement that prompts believers to be friendly, peaceful and merciful. In this context, everyone should refuse violence and use this time to establish productive intra-Afghan dialogue in the interests of all Afghans," the ministry concluded.

Russia, as a permanent member of UN Security Council, is ready to continue rendering political assistance to processes of establishing peace and facilitate the implementation of post-conflict transformations in Afghanistan, the ministry said.