MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi focused on the Afghanistan crisis in their phone call on Saturday, emphasizing the need to facilitate the intra-Afghan dialogue within the "extended troika."

"The emphasis of the conversation was placed on the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) came to power. The ministers stressed the need for assistance, including within the extended ‘troika’, in establishing an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue so as to form a representative government, ensure stability and law and order in that country," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministers were reported to have exchanged views on preparations for a meeting of the inter-governmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation and on cooperation between Moscow and Islamabad at international platforms.

On February 14, 2003, Russia’s Supreme Court handed down a ruling declaring the Taliban to be a terrorist organization, which is outlawed in Russia.