MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Russia’s special presidential representative for Afghanistan, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov, has said that starting from Monday he will be contacting the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) by telephone.
"We will be in touch by telephone as of tomorrow," he said in reply to a corresponding question.
Russia’s special presidential representative for Afghanistan, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov, said on Sunday he hoped for establishing friendly relations between Moscow and Afghanistan’s new leadership.
"This is not only a hope of mine. I am certain about this. We will be building relations with reliance on the material that we have accumulated over years," Kabulov told TASS.
Russia will not hurry to recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan (the Taliban movement is outlawed in Russia). "We are not in a rush as far as recognition is concerned. We will wait and watch how the regime will behave," he said.
The radical movement Taliban (outlawed in Russia), as follows from reports by the TV broadcaster Al Arabiya, entered Kabul Sunday evening without armed clashes and has been establishing control of the government offices vacated by the Afghan forces. President Ashraf Ghani has left the country. The Taliban says control of the city will be established within hours.
No pockets of resistance to the movement Taliban (outlawed in Russia) are likely to emerge in Afghanistan, Russia’s special presidential representative for Afghanistan, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov said on Sunday.
"The way I see it, it is already too late to expect any pockets of resistance to crop up. In all likelihood, if the Taliban selects the correct policy, no pockets of resistance will emerge," he said.