Taliban arrive in Russia days after Trump declares peace deal 'dead'

[Kailash Kumar]

Taliban Arrive in Moscow Days After Trump Declares Peace Deal 'Dead'

KATHY GANNON

September 13, 2019

(ISLAMABAD) — A Taliban official says the insurgent group’s negotiating team has arrived in the Russian capital just days after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a deal that had been nearly a year in the making was dead.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say with whom the Taliban would be meeting in Moscow on Friday.

The visit marked an interesting development given that the insurgent group made Moscow its first international visit following the collapse of talks with Washington. The team is led by Mullah Sher Mohammad Stanikzai.

Moscow has been accused of aiding the Taliban as a safeguard against a burgeoning Islamic State affiliate closely linked to the Central Asian terrorist group, the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. Moscow has twice this year hosted meetings between the Taliban and prominent Afghan personalities.

https://time.com/5677270/taliban-trump-deal-dead-moscow/

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Not a good sign!! Not at all!! Are the US policymakers sleeping????

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

we just hope peace comes to afghanistan soon. they have seen enough bloodshed and foreign interventions.

 

[Sabretooth]

By striking a deal with the Taliban Russians could achieve what they set out to 40 years ago. They were successful in pacifying a similar breed (Chechens). US tomfoolery will serve Afghanistan on a silver platter to Russians without them even firing a single bullet. Like it or not it is quite possible that the Indians will have a seat on this negotiation table.
Peace has been elusive in Afghanistan for as long as one can remember. Let us hope that conflict and resulting misery comes to an end one way or the other so the whole region can take a breather.

 

[LeGenD]

Do not expect much from this show of theatrics.

 

[Crystal-Clear]

Taliban visits Moscow days after Trump says talks ‘dead’
Pakistan Today: world news
40 minutes ago

MOSCOW: A negotiating team from the Taliban arrived Friday in Russia, a representative told The Associated Press, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump declared dead a deal with the insurgent group in Afghanistan.

Russian state news agency Tass cited the Taliban’s Qatar-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying the delegation had held consultations with Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for Afghanistan. The visit was confirmed to the AP by a Taliban official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The Interfax news agency cited an unidentified Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying the meeting in Russia underlined the necessity of renewing talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, and that the Taliban confirmed their readiness to continuing dialogue with Washington.

It was the Taliban’s first international visit following the collapse of talks with Washington. The team was being led by Mullah Sher Mohammad Stanikzai.

“This is a notable development, as it suggests the Taliban wants to underscore its continued interest in dialogue, even after President Trump pulled the plug on the US-Taliban talks,” said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center. “And how striking that the insurgents have chosen to telegraph a message of conciliation by engaging with Moscow, a key U.S. rival that has made great efforts to deepen ties with the Taliban in recent months.”

In a weekend tweet, Trump had called off negotiations and canceled a meeting he said he wanted to have with Afghan government leaders and the Taliban at the Camp David presidential retreat.

Shaheen told the Taliban’s official website on Tuesday that the group was still communicating with U.S. negotiators, at least to find out what to do next.

The Taliban shura, or leadership council, opposed its negotiators going to Camp David and admonished those who had accepted U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s invitation that was extended at the end of August.

Shaheen was quoted on the website as saying the Camp David visit was delayed, saying the Taliban wanted the agreement signed and witnessed by foreign ministers of several countries, including Russia. He said Taliban also wanted Qatar to announce the agreement before any Camp David meeting.

Moscow has been accused of aiding the Taliban as a safeguard against a burgeoning Islamic State affiliate that has close ties to the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, a militant group in Central Asia. Russia has stepped up its defenses in Central Asia and has claimed thousands of IS fighters were in northern Afghanistan

Moscow has twice this year hosted meetings between the Taliban and prominent Afghan personalities.

While Washington has been seeking an exit to its longest war, the Taliban are at their strongest since their ouster in 2001 and hold sway over more than half the country, staging near-daily, deadly attacks across Afghanistan.

Khalilzad’s year-long peace mission has been Washington’s most dedicated push for peace, focusing not just on the Taliban, Afghanistan’s government and prominent Afghan powerbrokers but also on Pakistan and Russia, as well as Iran, which has trained Afghan fighters known as the Fatimayoun Brigade that fought alongside Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Syria.

Khalilzad has focused his efforts on regional players almost as much as on the Taliban and Afghan government interlocutors. Earlier this year, the U.S. released a statement signed by the U.S., China and Russia supporting Khalilzad’s peace efforts that called not just for an agreement on U.S. and NATO troop withdrawal and Taliban anti-terrorism guarantees but also a promise for intra-Afghan talks in which Afghans would decide the fate of their country as well as the terms of a cease-fire.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/09/14/taliban-visits-moscow-days-after-trump-says-talks-dead/

 

[Lincoln]

No point. America is in Afghanistan, not Russia.

 

[Yankee-stani]

The sheer irony they were against the Russians 30 years ago now they are going to Moscow for talks how much the world has changed since then

No point. America is in Afghanistan, not Russia.

It's more of getting attention we got powerful states sorta backing us

 

[Crystal-Clear]

No point. America is in Afghanistan, not Russia.

do agree but russia could silupply sophisticated weaponary .

 

[YeBeWarned]

The sheer irony they were against the Russians 30 years ago now they are going to Moscow for talks how much the world has changed since then



It's more of getting attention we got powerful stares sorta backing us

Its not irony bro, its Geopolitics at its finest , When Russia invade Afghanistan it was in American interest to beat them there, and not to get hold in central Asia and Threat Pakistan (American Ally) . After 9/11 Russians get the opportunity to take their revenge by bringing US troops in Afghanistan, and making sure the fight goes on ..Afghans will never stop fighting and UN conventions will not US to use its full Military might on Afghanistan because of Collateral damage . I won't be surprised if Russians are inserting Millions of dollars worth of Arms and ammunition in Afghanistan to keep the war flames burning .

 

[Sharky]

Oh the irony.. haha

 

[Humble Analyst]

This does not look promising for anybody.