Taliban’s Foreign Minister Travels To Russia To Attend Moscow Format Meeting

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, headed a delegation of the group to Russia to participate in the sixth Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan.

The Taliban's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Muttaqi would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting.

Zia Ahmad Takal, the Taliban's deputy foreign ministry spokesman, wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday, that the meeting will be held on October 4. He has not announced the composition of this delegation, headed by Amir Khan Muttaqi.

This is the sixth meeting of the Moscow format on Afghanistan. The previous meeting of the Moscow format was held on September 29, 2023, in Kazan.

Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov visited the Taliban's Foreign Ministry in September 2024 and met with Amir Khan Muttaqi and invited representatives of the group to participate in the upcoming meeting of the Moscow Format.

In addition to Russia, representatives of India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Taliban will be present.

None of these countries recognise the Taliban, but they do have diplomatic relations with the group.