Status: 20.10.2021 6:55 p.m.
At a conference in Moscow on the political future of Afghanistan, the Russian government appealed to the Taliban to improve the human rights situation in the country. Moscow also recognized previous efforts.
At an international conference on the situation in Afghanistan organized by Moscow, Russia highlighted the efforts of the radical Islamic Taliban to stabilize the country.
The Kremlin’s representative for Afghanistan, Samir Kabulov, also called on the new rulers in Afghanistan to respect human rights. Only then would the Taliban have a chance of international recognition of their government. The Taliban had given assurances “that they are working to improve governance and human rights,” said Kabulov.
“Not everyone likes the new government”
He called on the international community to give up their “bias” and join forces to help the Afghan people. “Not everyone likes the new government in Afghanistan, but if we punish the government, we punish the whole people,” he said. According to Kabulov, all ten participating countries wanted to conclude the talks in a joint declaration calling on the United Nations to convene a donor conference to raise funds for Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s head of delegation, Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, said his government was ready to discuss “all concerns of the international community with all clarity, transparency and openness”. An international isolation of Afghanistan is “in nobody’s interest”.
Taliban demand funds for “reconstruction”
Hanafi appealed to the international community to make funds available for the reconstruction of the country. “We don’t need foreign military aid, we need support for peace in Afghanistan, we need reconstruction and resettlement,” he said.
In addition to representatives of the Taliban, Russia also invited diplomats from several countries to the conference in Moscow, including Afghanistan’s neighbors China, Pakistan and Iran. The US government canceled participation at short notice.
In Russia, the Taliban are classified as a “terrorist organization”. Nevertheless, Moscow had received representatives of the Islamists several times in recent years. So far, however, Russia has always made it clear that it is not planning any official recognition of the Taliban government in the short term.