KABUL: They may be arch rivals but now the Taliban militants and Russia have a common enemy and purpose — to see departure of the US troops from Afghanistan after more than 17 years of war that has spread of extremism and deep mistrust of the presence of American forces.
As part of its effort to revive influence in its former backyard, Moscow plans to hold a regional conference on the Afghan peace process on Sept. 4, a gathering that is highly likely to feature discussion on the fate of American soldiers in the country.
The Taliban has confirmed it will attend the meeting, but Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has refused to participate.
Daesh’s affiliates, despite numerous offensives by Afghan and US troops in recent months, have stepped up their attacks and conducted far more sophisticated strikes in major cities, including northern areas close to the border with Central Asia.
“Any debate held in regional or other countries about Afghanistan, especially about the peace process, needs to be structured under the auspices of the Afghan government. We are not attending,” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Sibghat Ahmadi told Arab News on Thursday.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Arab News that the Taliban delegation, led by the head of the group’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abas Stanekzai, will attend the meeting to “present the stance of Emirate (Taliban) at the meeting.”
He did not elaborate further, but both the Taliban and Moscow have long been demanding that international forces pull out from Afghanistan, 17 years after the Taliban government was toppled in a US-led invasion.
The Taliban’s participation comes weeks after members of the movement were reported to have met senior US officials to discuss the longest war in US history. The Taliban was also reported to have made official trips to Uzbekistan last week.
This comes as the insurgents make gains on the battlefield in Afghanistan against the Afghan government and separately in their war against Daesh.
The US military has claimed that Russia has worked surreptitiously with the Taliban.
In a BBC interview earlier this year, the American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John W. Nicholson, accused Moscow of “destabilizing activity” in supplying arms and equipment to Taliban fighters.
Russia responded that the allegations were baseless and blamed the US for the long drawn-out crisis in Afghanistan.
This war of words is bitter reminder of the Cold War era when Afghanistan found itself caught between Moscow and the US as well as regional powers such as Iran, Pakistan and India.
“Russia, through this meeting, wants to take the initiative of peace talks in Afghanistan in its hands and ... it wants to become active again in this region,” Daud Kalakani, a lawmaker told Arab News.
“The agenda of US military presence will likely be part of the discussions in the upcoming meeting,” he said. “Just like Iran, Moscow also wants to have closer ties with the Taliban.”
Harris Wadan, journalist and political analyst, said that Kabul had refused to take part in the Moscow summit after Washington’s decision to turn down Russia’s offer, because of its dependency on the US. The influence that the meeting will have is debatable due to the absence of two major stakeholders.
Russia saw Taliban as a threat when the group was in power, but now considers them as a counter-balance to Daesh.
“Moscow sees the Taliban as a greater stakeholder in Afghanistan … having relations with the Taliban, perhaps, puts you in a position to have influence in Afghanistan. Everyone want a piece of the pie,” said Wadan.
