A representative of the political office of the Taliban movement visited the Russian embassy in Afghanistan on August 21.
He asked diplomats to convey to the leaders of the only uncontrolled region of Panjshir a “political signal” that the militants are inclined to dialogue. This was announced on the air of the YouTube channel “Soloviev Live” by Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov.
The Afghan province of Panjshir is the only region not controlled by the Taliban. One of the leaders of the resistance units, Ahmad Masud, the son of the former leader of the anti-Taliban coalition Ahmad Shah Massoud, and the Vice President of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, settled there. On August 17, after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, Saleh named himself head of state and promised never to surrender to the militants.
According to Zhirnov, the Taliban spokesman asked Russia to convey to the leaders and residents of Panjshir that members of the movement have so far not attempted to enter the province by force. “The group is counting on finding a peaceful way to resolve the situation, for example, through reaching a political agreement,” the diplomat said.
The Taliban claim they are in the mood for dialogue and do not want bloodshed. Zhirnov believes that by this address the militants want to show that they are “not as terrible” as they are presented, and “they want to settle the situation in a more civilized manner than Saleh.”
According to the ambassador, the situation in Kabul after the seizure of power by the Taliban is calm, “for the eighth day in a row, everything is fine.” Zhirnov added that he does not believe in the possibility of the Taliban’s expansion into the countries of Central Asia.
