Russia ready to cooperate with US on Afghanistan

Zamir Kabulov, the special representative to the Russian president on Afghanistan

Russia says it is ready to engage in cooperation with the United States in Afghanistan as Washington struggles to contain a growing insurgency in the country some 16 years after it was invaded.

Zamir Kabulov, who serves as the head of the Asian region department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Saturday that Moscow had already established contacts with American authorities on the issue of Afghanistan.

Kabulov said Alice Wells, the United States' acting Assistant Secretary of State, was in direct contact with Russian authorities to discuss the issue.

The official, who is also the special representative to the Russian president on Afghanistan, censured US authorities last month for allegations of Russia’s support for certain militant groups in Afghanistan. He said Russia was in fact in contact with the Taliban to allow the representatives of the group to take a role in a future Afghan government as part of an initiative by the United Nations for establishing peace in the country.

Wells, a key figure in Washington's policy on Afghanistan, has also refused to endorse the views of certain US officials about Moscow’s provision of weapons to the Taliban.

Under President Donald Trump, the United States has decided to expand its military presence in Afghanistan with the deployment of some 4,000 troops. That came after the Taliban, and other groups such as the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, managed to gain footholds across the country.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001. The Taliban was pushed from power afterward. However, the costly military adventure which has led to tens of thousands of deaths among the civilians and military forces has largely failed to establish security in the war-torn country.