MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. The delegation of India held contacts with the Taliban group during the Moscow format meeting and Russia welcomes this move, Special Russian Presidential Representative for Afghanistan, Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov said at an online conference on Monday.
"Representatives of India took part [in the Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan] and, as far as we know and we know for certain, they held contacts with the Taliban delegation in Moscow. We welcome these steps and expect such contacts and talks to contribute to a further growth in mutual understanding between Kabul and New Delhi," the Russian envoy said in response to a question about whether India had softened its categorical stance on the new authorities in Kabul after the Moscow format meeting.
The third Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan was held in the Russian capital on October 20. The Moscow format platform emerged in 2017 on the basis of a six-party mechanism of consultations by special envoys from Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China and Pakistan. As Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the Moscow consultations, the participants in the talks stressed the importance of forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
The Taliban radical militant group (outlawed in Russia) launched a large-scale offensive to seize control of Afghanistan after the United States declared its intention in the spring of this year to withdraw its troops from the country.
On August 15, the Taliban swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance while Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country. The Taliban declared on September 6 that they had taken control of all of Afghan territory, and on September 7 they unveiled an interim government in Afghanistan that has not been recognized by any country so far.