Reluctant To Rush To Recognize The Taliban Regime, Russia Blames Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

Illustration of explosions in Afghanistan. (Wikimedia Commons/POA Phot/Sean Clee)

JAKARTA - The Russian government will not rush to recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, because the Taliban movement is prohibited in Russia, said the Russian President's special representative for Afghanistan who is also the Director of the Second Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Zamir Kabulov.

The Taliban managed to enter Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan and take control of the presidential palace, Sunday, August 15 yesterday. This forced President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country.

"We are not in a hurry as far as confession is concerned. We will wait and see how it acts," he told TASS as quoted Monday, August 16.

Regarding the statements of the Taliban, they want it to take place in full power and rebuild the Afghan government, Kabulov blames the conditions that have occurred on the President of Afghanistan.

"What they are saying now is to blame on Ashraf Ghani, for procrastinating and refusing to hold talks for a whole year. He has lost everything," Kabulov stressed.

However, as a diplomat, Kabulov said he hoped to build friendly relations between Moscow and the new Afghan leadership.

Russian President's Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov. (Wikimedia Commons/DFID - UK Department for International Development)

"This is not just my hope. I am sure of this. Russia will build relations by relying on the material we have collected over the years," continued Kabulov.

To note, the Taliban entered Kabul late Sunday without armed clashes and have established control over government offices vacated by Afghan forces, taking control of the city to be established in a few hours, Al Arabiya TV said.

The Taliban said in a statement quoted by the television channel that no combat operations were taking place in the country's capital and the group had taken control of all of Afghanistan.

"The Taliban launched attacks on Kabul from all directions on Sunday morning. Afghanistan's Acting Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal announced on a live broadcast of the Tolo News TV channel that "the handover of power will be carried out peacefully."