RUSSIALINK: “Moscow Courts the Taliban” – Carnegie Moscow/Arkady Dubnov

“… Despite all this, Russian diplomats considered the Taliban’s agreement to come to Moscow to be a success. Unofficial information from inside the Foreign Ministry indicates the great importance it attached to the Taliban leaders’ first official visit to Moscow. To guarantee their presence, the Russian government was willing to remove it from the list of organizations that are prohibited in Russia. So, what made Lavrov suddenly agree to the Afghan president’s request and postpone the conference? …”