KABUL - Soon after the Taliban announced resumption of military operations, Russia said it would never accept monopoly of power in Afghanistan.
Two days back, the insurgent movement asked its fighters to return to the battlefield now that the reduction of violence period had ended. At the end of the week-long partial truce, the Taliban signed a peace deal with the US on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, President Putin’s Special Envoy Zamir Kabulov said Russia had clearly told the Taliban it would never accept monopoly of power in Afghanistan.
"We have told the Taliban more than once that we accept no monopoly and are opposed to the Taliban’s return to power. Pakistan, Iran, the US and China share this position," he added.
Moscow would lift sanctions on the Taliban if the United Nations Security Council reached a decision on the issue, Kabulov said.
Under the deal, the US may start diplomatic engagement with UNSC and Afghanistan to remove Taliban leaders’ names from the sanctions list by May 29.
Russia’s special envoy believed intra-Afghan dialogue was unlikely to get under way on the scheduled date, as President Ashraf Ghani has refused to free thousands of Taliban prisoners. (Pajhwok)