Taliban ready to talk with Kabul if US troops exit

MOSCOW: Taliban are ready to talk with Afghanistan’s government only after agreeing with the United States on a schedule for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, Russian Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said Monday. "They said that they would be ready to talk with the Afghan government only after reaching an agreement with the Americans on the schedule for withdrawing all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

As a confidence-building measure, the Taliban have preliminarily demanded the release of all political prisoners and the cancellation of anti-Taliban sanctions imposed on them back in 1997," Kabulov said at a press conference. The Taliban are ready to take part in the next meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow, Kabulov noted as quoted by Russia’s Sputnik news agency. "Yes. In principle, the Taliban are ready. They really liked it, they are ready to take part," Kabulov said at a press conference when asked.