No Plan To Meet Taliban On St. Petersburg Forum Sidelines, Says Russian Official

Alexander Pankin, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, announced that no bilateral meeting between Russian and Taliban officials is planned on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

Pankin said that they will only interact at a roundtable where the Taliban's Minister of Labor and Social Affairs will also be present.

Abdul Manan Omari, the Taliban's Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, has traveled to Russia heading a delegation to attend the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

In response to the question of whether there will be a bilateral meeting between Russia and the Taliban, Alexander Pankin said, "No, we will interact at a roundtable with the Minister of Labor heading the delegation."

During his visit to St. Petersburg, Abdul Manan Omari said that the group is ready to discuss expanding security relations with Russia.

He added that the Taliban is waiting for its name to be removed from Russia's list of terrorist organisations.

Russia had previously announced that it is considering removing the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations.

In an interview with TASS news agency, Pankin suggested that the Taliban movement should simply be called Afghanistan. According to him, it is a reality that the Taliban control Afghanistan.