Russia invites Taliban to take part in economic forum in St. Petersburg

Russia has sent an invitation to the Taliban movement to take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Zamir Kabulov, director of the second Asian department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told TASS, according to Report.

"An invitation has been sent to them (the Taliban). I don’t know about the level yet," he said.

Kabulov noted that promising areas of cooperation with the Taliban will be discussed.

"Traditionally, the Afghans are interested in continuing to expand cooperation on the purchase of petroleum products from Russia and other goods of high demand. Of course, it will be possible to talk in the future about using the transit capabilities of Afghanistan to expand trade turnover with the vast region," the diplomat said.