Taliban Ready To Resume Regular Flights With Russia, Moscow Sends Humanitarian Aid To Kabul Today

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. (Twitter/@GMICafghanistan)

JAKARTA - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban are ready to resume regular flights with Moscow, while Russia sent the first phase of humanitarian aid to Kabul today, saying the country's problems cannot be solved without international help.

The interim government of the radical militant group Taliban is working to resume regular air services with Russia and other countries, Taliban Spokesman, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture in Afghanistan's interim government Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters.

"We are making final preparations and are working actively to resume regular flights with Russia and other countries as soon as possible," he quoted TASS as saying November 18.

On the same occasion, he also said that the Taliban are ready to return to Russia if there is an invitation in the future, after their representatives recently visited the Red Bear Country.

"As you know, our delegation visited Russia recently. And, no doubt, if we receive a new invitation, we will respond to it and will visit," said Mujahid.

On October 18, a delegation of the Taliban interim government led by Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi visited the Russian capital to participate in the 3rd meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow format.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov reiterated that the Afghan problem cannot be solved without the support of the international community.

"The Taliban have stated that they want to cooperate with the international community. They prioritize Russia, China and Pakistan. We now emphasize the need to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan," he said.

"The next stage is to mobilize international donors for the purpose of restoring the country's economy. Without this, it is impossible to tackle Afghanistan's problems such as refugees, terrorism and drugs," he explained.

Zhirnov told the Izvestia newspaper that Russia will send the first batch of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan on Thursday, including 36 tons of food, medicine and essential goods.

"A special flight carried out by the Russian Ministry of Defense will send to Afghanistan a large number of humanitarian cargo prepared by the Ministry of Emergencies. This includes food, medicine and essential goods," he explained.

"The first batch of 36 tons was delivered on November 18. Then there will be two more shipments. Overall, more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid will be supplied," he said.

According to the diplomat, the Taliban assured that aid would be distributed among those in need. "This is important. The Afghan authorities understand that any mistake will greatly complicate their further work with foreign funders," Zhirnov points out.

The diplomat also said Russian citizens would be evacuated from Afghanistan on flights home. As Zhirnov noted, nearly 900 Afghan students from Russian universities signed up for export flights to further their education.

Please note, from August 25 to 26, the Russian Ministry of Defense conducted repatriation flights from Afghanistan for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who are seeking assistance to return to their countries. The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that it was not an evacuation, but assistance to return to their homeland, for those facing challenging conditions amid dramatic changes in Afghanistan's military-political situation.