Russia hails troop withdrawal talks between US, Taliban

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan welcomed on Tuesday contacts between the representatives of the U.S. and the Taliban, local media reported.

Speaking to RIA, a Russian news agency, Zamir Kabulov said Moscow is "positive" about the talks between the two sides regarding the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Kabulov said U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to visit Moscow in February.

"He wants to meet us [...] We largely are ready to have a meeting with him in Moscow once again in February," Kabulov said.

He noted that Moscow has been working on holding a fresh meeting on Afghanistan, but the date of the meeting is not fixed yet.