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Russian authorities have invited a representative of the Taliban movement (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) to the upcoming Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan, deputy spokesman and assistant director of public relations at the Taliban Foreign Ministry Hafiz Zia Ahmad said, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets.

"Russian Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov met with Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaki the previous day and presented information about the upcoming Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan and invited the foreign minister to attend the meeting," Ahmad said on social media.

For his part, Muttaki thanked Russia for the invitation and added that the Moscow format plays an important role in creating harmony in the region. The minister clarified that the Afghan government (Taliban) had participated in previous meetings in Moscow.

"Foreign Minister Muttaki expressed hope that both Kabul and Moscow will take advantage of the meeting within the framework of diplomatic relations. Muttaki reminded the Russian ambassador (of the request) to facilitate the issuance of visas so that both businessmen and other Afghans can travel to Russia without hindrance," a spokesman for the radical movement said in a statement.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the United States and its coalition allies, as well as the government they backed, hastily fled Afghanistan after a 20-year military presence.

So far, the Taliban movement has not been officially recognized by any state in the world, and its leaders are on the UN sanctions lists. Despite this, a number of countries, including Russia, have official contacts with representatives of the movement. Thus, the Taliban participated in the Moscow Format meeting in October 2021. The Taliban were not invited to last year's meeting in this format. The Moscow format includes Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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