Russia says time to recognize Taliban as legitimate authority has not come yet

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The time to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate authority has not come yet, Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan said on Sunday.

At the moment, Moscow is ready to work with a future interim government, Zamir Kabulov told the Russian state-run RIA news agency.

Kabulov said that Russia is not worried about the situation in Afghanistan because it has good ties with both the Taliban and the Afghan government.

After capturing many key strategic provincial capitals in recent days, forcing government forces to surrender or flee, Taliban fighters on Sunday reached the capital city.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani together with his close aides also left the country.

Following the departure of Ghani, former President Hamid Karzai, veteran politician Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and top peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah formed a council with an aim to ensure smooth transfer of power.