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No Moscow visits scheduled for Taliban members, US representative, says Russian envoy

A delegation of the Taliban movement arrived in Oslo on Saturday night at the invitation of the Norwegian government

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Moscow expects neither members of the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) nor US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West to visit Russia after the Oslo-hosted talks, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told TASS on Monday.

"We have no such plans," he said in response to a question.

A delegation of the Taliban movement, led by Foreign Minister of the Taliban-formed interim government Amir Khan Muttaqi, arrived in Oslo on Saturday night at the invitation of the Norwegian government. On January 23-25, the delegation is taking part in consultations with Afghan social and political activists, as well as with politicians from Norway and a number of other countries.

West took to Twitter earlier stating that he had arrived in Oslo. He welcomed Norway’s "initiative to bring Afghan civil society and the Taliban together for dialogue" and pointed out that the US "will continue clear-eyed diplomacy with the Taliban" in order to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

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Russian Foreign Ministry Afghanistan Norway

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