A small portion of the Taliban group traveled to Moscow on Thursday to meet with a special envoy and reassure the Russian government and its Central Asian allies that they are no threat despite their advance in Afghanistan.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Zamir Kabulov, the Kremlin envoy for Afghanistan, met with the Taliban to discuss the growing concerns regarding the situation in the northern parts of the war-torn country. The envoy allegedly tried to have the Taliban stop spreading their territory beyond Afghanistan's borders.
Taliban Group's Expansion
The ministry said it received assurances from the Taliban group that they were going to respect the borders of Central Asian countries. They added that the insurrection group guaranteed the safety of foreign diplomatic and consular missions in Afghanistan.
The Taliban forced hundreds of Aghan soldiers to flee the border and return to Tajikistan earlier this week. The area the soldiers went into a Russian military base. As a response, Tajikistan called in 20,000 troops to bolster its defenses and strengthen its southern border with Afghanistan.
However, the Taliban group's expansion in Afghanistan increased concerns among Russian officials of the potential destabilization of ex-Soviet Central Asian nations found north of the country. Russian state Tass news agency reported that Taliban spokesman Mohammad Sohail Shaheen said they would not allow anyone to use Afghan territory to attack Russia or its neighboring countries, Yahoo News reported.
Shaheen reportedly said that the Taliban group has a very healthy relationship with the Russian government. He added that his group wished to continue having a peaceful political settlement in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin committed to providing support to Tajikistan authorities to help them bolster their defenses in the border area. The leader also discussed with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev regarding the worsening situation in the region during a phone call, Bloomberg reported.
The incident came after Russian military helicopters in Tajikistan shot air-to-surface missiles in a training exercise on Tuesday. The Russian government said its troops in the Central Asian country were ready to defend the Afghanistan border.
Afghanistan Border
On Monday, Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon was the one who ordered the mobilization of the 20,000 military reservists to strengthen the Afghanistan border. On the same day, Putin committed to providing support to the region if they needed it.
Tajikistan hosts one of Russia's largest military bases, which is equipped with tanks, helicopters, drones, and ground attack aircraft. The base could prove pivotal with the stabilization of the Afghan border if a fight breaks out. The Kremlin said in a statement that it could proceed with either direct or regional security bloc.
Andrei Rudenko, Russia's deputy foreign minister, supported his country's commitment on Monday, saying he believed the Taliban now holds control over the majority of the border on the Afghan side.
Rudenko said the situation in Afghanistan was intense and noted that about 70% of the Afghan border was under the direct control of the Taliban group. On Monday, he said that two MI-24 attack helicopters and two military transport helicopters conducted a training exercise in Tajikistan to prepare for potential conflict, Reuters reported.
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