Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai (R), head of the Taliban’s political council in Qatar, during talks in Russia. November 9, 2018. © Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Sputnik: Taliban Will Only Talk to Kabul if Timeline Exists For US Troops' Exit - Moscow
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Taliban* movement stated it was ready to talk with Afghanistan's government only after agreeing with the United States on a schedule for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, Russian Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said.
"They said that they would be ready to talk with the Afghan government only after reaching an agreement with the Americans on the schedule for withdrawing all foreign troops from Afghanistan. As a confidence-building measure, the Taliban have preliminarily demanded the release of all political prisoners and the cancellation of anti-Taliban sanctions imposed on them back in 1997," Kabulov said at a press conference.
The Taliban are ready to take part in the next meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow, Kabulov noted.
Read more ....
Update #1: Envoy: Russia plays Afghanistan broker due to US 'failure' -- FOX News/AP
Update #2: Russia announces Taliban’s demands for US -- Washington Examiner
WNU Editor: The Taliban conditions .... especially the withdrawal of coalition forces before talks are to begin .... is a non-starter.
