Afghanistan International: Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s National Security Council Secretary, met with Mullah Baradar, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, during his visit to Kabul on Monday, November 25. Shoigu is the highest-ranking official from Moscow to visit Kabul since the Taliban came to power in August 2021. The Taliban reported that Shoigu promised
The Independent (UK): The UK trained and paid special forces to fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. As hundreds of these fighters live in danger while Britain delays decisions on whether to give them sanctuary, the UK’s adversaries are circling. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: The United States and its allies are making pretexts for resuming their military presence in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Speaking at the Second Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security in Minsk, Lavrov said that the US and its allies are trying to destablize the situation in Afghanistan. Earlier, Lavrov had said
Ayaz Gul VOA News October 5, 2024 ISLAMABAD — Russia reported Friday that a “principal decision” had already been made to remove Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban from Moscow’s list of terrorist organizations. Zamir Kabulov, the Russian presidential envoy for the South Asian nation, was quoted by state-run TASS news agency as saying that the foreign ministry and
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 4, 2024 Russia has urged the West to lift sanctions on Taliban-led Afghanistan and called for the inclusion of its government in discussions about the country’s future in direct opposition to the U.S. position of keeping sanctions against the regime in place. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a
By Ayaz Gul VOA News October 3, 2024 Islamabad, Pakistan — Russia is set to convene a meeting of regional countries on Friday to discuss, among other issues, the expansion of “practical interaction” with Taliban-governed Afghanistan in political, economic, counterterrorism and counternarcotics areas. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will participate as the “chief guest” in what
8am: One analysis suggests that given the developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, Western powers, especially the U.S., may be seeking to exploit al-Qaeda and other Central Asian militant groups to undermine Russian interests. After the September 11 attacks, the U.S. significantly weakened al-Qaeda and eliminated many of its senior leaders, but it either did not
Forbes: Amidst warming ties between its regime and Russia, the Taliban have expressed its intent to build Afghanistan’s air defenses with Russian equipment. And while Moscow has appeared willing to arm the Houthis in Yemen and even Hezbollah in Lebanon with advanced missiles in recent months, it may not prove so willing for the current
Michael Hughes: The CIA claims it established a back channel with the Taliban to cooperate on operations against anti-Western terrorist groups, while suggesting dire warnings of Afghanistan becoming a terrorist sanctuary are overblown. The narrative has been spun harder recently, undeniably for political purposes ahead of a presidential election, but the covert agency’s assertions are
Ariana: Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov said in a meeting with Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi that he intends to increase diplomatic relations with Afghanistan and may accept the Islamic Emirate’s ambassador in Tashkent in the near future, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Click here to read more (external link).