Recognition of Taliban not on table at present: Russia

UNITED NATIONS: International recognition of the Taliban “at the present juncture is not on the table,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday at the United Nations.

Among the Taliban’s promises are ensuring an inclusive government; respecting human rights, especially for women; and preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists. But the interim Taliban government, Lavrov said, fails to reflect "the whole gamut of Afghan society — ethno-religious and political forces — so we are engaging in contacts, they are ongoing."

He said Russia, China, Pakistan and the United States are working together to ensure that Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers keep their promises. "What's most important ... is to ensure that the promises that they have proclaimed publicly [are] to be kept," Lavrov added at news conference Saturday afternoon, international media reported.

Lavrov addressed a wide range of topics, including the Iran nuclear deal and Russian mercenaries in Mali. On Iran, Lavrov urged a greater effort from the US to rejoin the deal. "It seems evident they should be more active" in "resolving all issues related" to the accord, Lavrov said.

Talks in Vienna among representatives from Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany have stalled, and Iran is no longer in compliance with the nuclear agreement, Lavrov said, “simply because the United State has left it.”

The deal was struck in 2015 and called for Iran to undo most of its nuclear programme and allow international monitoring. In exchange, it would receive sanctions relief. Former US President Donald Trump left the deal in 2018, and Iran resumed nuclear activities. US President Joe Biden has said he wants to rejoin the agreement if Iran returns to compliance.

Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said Friday that the talks would resume "very soon," but Tehran has not been specific about the timeframe, according to AFP. On Mali, Lavrov said the country had turned to a private military company to help it combat terrorism, something France and the US oppose. Lavrov said the Russian government had nothing to do with any agreement between Mali and Russia’s Wagner Group.