Establishment Of ISIS Bases In Region Has Worried Taliban, Says Group’s FM

Speaking at the Moscow Format Conference, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister said that ISIS has been able to establish equipment and training centres outside Afghanistan's borders, and this incident has caused concern for the Taliban.

Muttaqi called on the countries of the region not to allow ISIS to recruit their nationals and send them to Afghanistan and other countries for destructive purposes.

The Taliban official claimed that most of ISIS' attacks in Afghanistan are carried out by foreign nationals.

Taliban officials have repeatedly claimed that ISIS does not exist in Afghanistan. Yet ISIS-K continues to claim responsibility for deadly attacks in Afghanistan.

The Taliban's foreign minister headed a delegation to Moscow and participated in the sixth meeting of the Moscow Consultative Format.

Although Russia recognises the Taliban as a terrorist group, it has diplomatic relations with the group.

The Taliban's foreign minister said at the Moscow consultative format meeting that the group expects the level of diplomatic relations with Russia to increase.

Ahead of Amir Khan Muttaqi's speech, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Moscow Consultative Format meeting that various terrorist groups are still present in Afghanistan and carry out attacks outside the country. At the same time, he called for assistance to Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism.

Meanwhile, the head of Russia's security agency, Alexander Bortnikov, spoke at a meeting of the heads of the security and intelligence services of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Bishkek on Friday about the terrorist threats from Afghanistan. He also said that in order to fight ISIS-K and other jihadist groups based in Afghanistan, it is better to communicate with the Taliban.

However, Muttaqi called the claims of officials of regional countries about the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan "incorrect" and asked them not to look at Afghanistan through the lens of "foreigners”.