Representatives of the Taliban have confirmed they will take part in talks aimed at Afghanistan in Moscow next week, President Vladimir Putin's representative in Afghanistan said on Friday.
The official, Zamir Kabulov, said in a statement published by Russian media that the Taliban had not confirmed their participation in the talks next Wednesday but had yet to announce their team members.
Moscow hosted an international conference on Afghanistan in March when Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan issued a joint statement urging the then warring factions of Afghanistan to reach a peace agreement and end the violence.
Since then, the United States and its allies withdrew their troops after 20 years on the ground, the Taliban have taken power and the previous government has collapsed.
Russia is now concerned about the possibility of a collapse in the wider region and whether it is possible for Muslim troops to invade the former Soviet republic of Central Asia, which Moscow considers its southern defense base.
Since the occupation of the Taliban, Moscow has held military exercises in Tajikistan and tightened hardware in its military base there.
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