Russian President's key aide visits Kabul, holds talks with Taliban leadership

Kabul, April 24 (IANS) Zamir Kabulov, the Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan, travelled to Kabul to hold meetings with the interim senior leadership of Afghanistan, including Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Kabir, Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Acting Minister of Interior Affairs, Sirajuddin Haqqani.

"The meeting focused on bilateral relations between both the countries. Regional political and security issues were also discussed," said the Afghan Interior Ministry in a statement.

Moscow, on the other hand, said that the main topics of discussion during Kabulov's trip on Tuesday were the further development of diverse bilateral cooperation in the political and economic fields, and the establishment of regional cooperation with Afghanistan within the Moscow format.

"The responsibility of the US and its allies for the negative consequences of a 20-year stay in Afghanistan is emphasised. The need was emphasised for the immediate and unconditional 'unfreezing' of the country's national assets with their transfer to the disposal of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, as well as the lifting of all illegitimate unilateral sanctions against this state," stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, the local media in Kabul reported that, during the meeting with Kabulov, Kabir advocated for the Taliban to be granted Afghanistan's representative seat at the United Nations and also opposed the appointment of a UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan.

In December, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution requesting the Secretary-General to appoint a Special Envoy for Afghanistan, provided with robust expertise on human rights and gender, as it also stressed the critical importance of a continued presence of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

During a Security Council open debate on protecting women against sexual violence in conflict held on Tuesday, representatives of many member states voiced their concern over the "systematic assault" on women destroying lives and livelihoods in Afghanistan and called for a "speedy appointment" of the UN Special Envoy to support the implementation of the independent assessment's recommendations.