MOSCOW: The Taliban entered a second day of unprecedented talks on Wednesday with powerful Afghan politicians in Moscow, sidestepping the Kabul government as it pursues a leading stake in the war-torn country.
The rare public appearance that kicked off a day before saw Taliban officials spell out their vision for Afghanistan in front of rolling cameras and a host of political heavyweights, including former president Hamid Karzai.
The insurgents went around President Ashraf Ghani and sat down with his chief rivals for an extraordinary meeting that saw Karzai and other sworn enemies of the Taliban praying with the militants.
No government official was invited, despite Ghani’s offers to talk peace, underscoring the Taliban’s hostility toward the increasingly marginalised Kabul administration. The Moscow meet comes a week after the Taliban held separate talks toward ending 17 years of fighting with American negotiators in Doha, where Ghani was again not invited to the table.
But US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. ‘Everything’ must include an intra-Afghan dialogue and comprehensive ceasefire". The US has issued no details on any potential withdrawal plan. The Taliban routinely exaggerate their attacks and details of other engagements, and Nato and Afghan officials deny the claims.
Ghani’s allies in Washington insist Afghans should lead the peace process, and ostensiblythe months-long push by the US to engage the Taliban has been aimed at convincing them to negotiate with Kabul.
A top US general also said that Kabul must be involved in talks if a push for a peace deal is to be successful. "Ultimately, we need to get to a Taliban-Afghanistan discussion," General Joseph Votel, the head of US Central Command, told US lawmakers. "Only they will be able to resolve the key issues involved in the dispute."
Ghani spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late Tuesday, who had "underscored the central importance of ensuring the centrality of the Afghan government in the peace process", the president said.
"The Moscow meeting is nothing more than a fantasy. No one can decide without the consent of the Afghan people," Ghani told Afghan broadcaster TOLO news.
"Those who have gathered in Moscow have no executive authority. They can say what they want, but who are they representing?"
The Moscow conference is the Taliban’s most significant engagement with Afghan leaders in recent memory -- and unique for the militants who banned television when they ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.
Their leadership is rarely seen in public and scenes of Taliban officials clad in black turbans outlining their manifesto for live television is virtually unheard of. Before the Afghan envoys -- including female delegates -- the Taliban promised to loosen some restrictions on women and not seek a monopoly on power. They have proposed an "inclusive Islamic system" of governance but demanded a new Islam-based constitution for Afghanistan.
This week Moscow brought together the Taliban and powerful Afghan politicians for two days of unprecedented talks Tuesday and Wednesday, the insurgents’ most significant engagement with Afghan leaders in recent memory.
In incredible scenes broadcast around the world, former president Hamid Karzai and other leaders shared prayers and meals with the Taliban while discussing the future of the conflict-riven country at a hotel that belongs to the Kremlin.
"This is a turning point," Andrei Serenko, an expert at the Centre for Contemporary Afghan Studies, said. "From reacting to other players’ initiatives, Russia has switched to generating its own initiatives in the region."
Washington’s decision to draw down troops from Afghanistan in a bid to extricate itself from the nearly 18-year war can become both a boon and bane for Russia, analysts say.
On the one hand, Moscow will burnish its credentials as a major player and mediator in the region; on the other hand, the US withdrawal will increase risks of instability and violence in Central Asia, seen as Moscow’s sphere of influence.
"Russia is returning to Afghanistan using it as a platform for confrontation with the United States," independent expert Arkady Dubnov said. Dubnov added that Russia was vitally interested in seeing stability and security in the impoverished country’s northern provinces.
While he said Moscow would not send troops to the country given the Soviet Union’s painful experience in Afghanistan, Russia could provide other forms of assistance. "If there’s a request from the leadership, money and arms supplies cannot be ruled out," Dubnov added.
