Russian envoy says Taliban already part of ‘political landscape’

Russia believes that the Taliban has already become part of Afghanistan’s political landscape and that this should be taken into consideration.

According to Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia, the issue of peace needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Nebenzia said Moscow is “actively participating in all the efforts for establishing peace in Afghanistan.

“It is necessary to address this issue as quickly as possible because the Taliban itself claims that it is controlling 80% of the territory of Afghanistan.

“I do not know how accurate these figures are, and cannot comment on them. But a solution cannot be found without taking into account the fact that the Taliban has become a part of the political landscape of Afghanistan,” Nebenzya said.

This comes amid a sharp rise in violence in the past few weeks and a rapid increase in districts falling to the Taliban.

Nebenzya said: “We will still have to see what the country looks like after the Americans complete their withdrawal.”