Progress made at Afghan talks in Moscow but no breakthrough: Taliban

The Moscow meeting comes weeks after between the US and Taliban wrapped in Doha with no tangible progress

MOSCOW: A Taliban official said on Thursday that decent progress had been made at talks with a group of senior Afghan politicians in Moscow but that there had been no breakthrough and that further talks would be needed, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia invites Taliban, Afghan officials to Moscow meet

The delegation, led by chief Taliban negotiator Mullah Baradar Akhund, met politicians including senior regional leaders and candidates challenging President Ashraf Ghani in this year’s presidential election amid gathering diplomatic efforts to end the 18-year war.

The meeting in Moscow comes weeks after the sixth round of talks between the US and Taliban wrapped in Doha with no tangible progress cited by the negotiating teams.

The Taliban have said peace negotiations were stumbling over the fundamental question of when foreign forces would depart Afghanistan.

The US, however, has refused to agree to withdrawal as part of an eventual deal until the Taliban put in place security guarantees, a ceasefire, and other commitments including an “intra-Afghan” dialogue with the Kabul government and other Afghan representatives.

The Taliban have a political wing in Qatar and in recent weeks have met with Roland Kobia, the EU’s special envoy for Afghanistan, as well as German special envoy Markus Potzel.

Left out of peace talks, US allies reassess Afghan support

Moscow appears to be gaining influence in the ongoing process, with the US announcing last month that Washington had reached a consensus with China and Russia on the key formula for a peace deal it is negotiating in Afghanistan.