Taliban don’t rule whole country: Moscow

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says a Taliban resistance is forming in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley led by vice president Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud.

"The Taliban doesn’t control the whole territory of Afghanistan," Lavrov told reporters at a press conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Libyan counterpart on Thursday. "There are reports of the situation in the Panjshir Valley where the resistance of Afghanistan’s vice president Mr Saleh and Ahmad Massoud is concentrated," he said. Lavrov also reiterated his call for an inclusive dialogue involving all political players in Afghanistan for formation of a "representative government". The Panjshir Valley northeast of Kabul is Afghanistan’s last remaining holdout, known for its natural defences.

According to images shared on the social media, Saleh and Massoud, the son of anti-Taliban fighter Ahmed Shah Massoud, are pulling together a guerrilla movement to take on the Taliban. Moscow has been cautiously optimistic about the new leadership in Kabul and is seeking contact with the militants in an effort to avoid instability spilling over to neighbouring ex-Soviet states.