MOSCOW, August 17./TASS/. Russian Ambassador in Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov said on Tuesday that he had discussed security of the Russian embassy at a meeting with representatives of the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia).
"The meeting focused mainly on embassy security," the diplomat told Rossiya-24 television. "Those were representatives from the senior echelon of the Taliban, who were accepting capitulation of the remaining Afghan national security forces that had disbanded by themselves," the diplomat said.
According to the ambassador, the meeting was positive and constructive and the Taliban once again guaranteed the safety of the Russian Embassy. "Representatives of the Taliban said the Taliban had a most friendly and kind approach to Russia. They confirmed to us the guarantees of the embassy safety, and we received a ‘yes’ to all the more concrete questions specifying the whole set of aspects related to security," Zhirnov added.
After the United States announced the end of its armed operation in Afghanistan and began to withdraw its troops, the Taliban launched a large-scale offensive on the government army and by August 15 entered Kabul after meeting no resistance. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was resigning to avoid bloodshed and fled the country. Western nations are evacuating their citizens and embassy employees.