Taliban foreign minister to visit Russia for Moscow-format talks, sources say

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is expected to travel to Russia next week to attend the Moscow-format meeting on Afghanistan, sources told Amu.

The trip is scheduled for Oct. 6 and will include a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed. The Taliban have not yet commented publicly.

Muttaqi’s planned visit comes despite his being on a United Nations Security Council sanctions list, which bars him from international travel unless an exemption is granted. The Security Council has previously issued temporary waivers to allow Taliban officials to attend international conferences, but Western diplomats have signaled growing resistance to such exemptions.

Earlier this year, sources said Muttaqi was due to visit India, but the trip was canceled after the United States opposed granting him a travel waiver. The issue of exemptions was also raised during a recent Security Council meeting, where diplomats suggested Washington may be hardening its stance against easing restrictions on Taliban officials.

The Moscow-format dialogue, now in its seventh round, brings together Afghanistan’s neighbors and regional powers to discuss the country’s political, security and humanitarian situation. Russia has hosted the format since 2017, framing it as part of its broader engagement with Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

Muttaqi has previously traveled to countries including Pakistan, Iran, and Qatar under U.N.-approved exemptions. His presence in Moscow would mark one of the Taliban’s highest-profile appearances in a regional forum this year.