Russia must press the Taliban to enter peace talks in Afghanistan, while an international inquiry should establish whether the Kremlin is arming the insurgent group, according to a senior Afghan official.
Russia has “a significant role” in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table, Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar told reporters in Moscow on Thursday. He said he told Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev that “if you have contacts with the Taliban, please use these contacts for promotion of peace talks. The Taliban should not be able to use such contacts for war.”
U.S. accusations that Russia may be sending weapons and other supplies to the Taliban are “the most sensitive issue,” though Afghan officials have no evidence it’s happening, Atmar said. Unproven claims of U.S. help for the Islamic State should also be checked, he said. The government in Kabul has proposed to “Russia, central Asia and our Western partners that we have a joint fact-finding mission to investigate, to see if there is any truth in such allegations,” Atmar said.
The security chief’s visit took place as Russia and the U.S. are increasingly sparring over Afghanistan, adding to frictions over Ukraine, Syria and alleged Kremlin meddling in support of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential elections. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has voiced suspicion of Russia’s actions in Afghanistan, where it’s fostered ties with the Taliban amid a campaign by the terrorist group against Afghan and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. Russia, which fought a losing decadelong war in Afghanistan against U.S.-backed Islamist groups before the Soviet Union’s collapse, denies supplying arms to the Taliban.
