Moscow says 'no' to Taliban

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, OCT. 30. Moscow has reiterated its opposition to the induction of the ``moderate'' Taliban into a future government in Kabul.

Russia's Foreign Minister, Mr. Igor Ivanov, said there was no place in Afghanistan for ``even the so-called' moderate' Taliban.'' He was the first Russian leader to explicitly denounce attempts to differentiate between ``extremist'' and ``moderate'' Taliban leaders.

``We believe it is basically incorrect to divide the Taliban into moderate and non-moderate,'' the Interfax news agency quoted Mr. Ivanov as saying after talks with the Spanish Foreign Minister, Mr. Josep Pique, in Moscow on Monday. ``This movement as a whole is responsible for the crimes committed in Afghanistan and for the tragedy that has befallen the Afghan people.''

The Russian Foreign Minister denied that Moscow's rejection of the Taliban in the postwar political arrangement in Afghanistan put it at loggerheads with Washington. Earlier this month the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, backed Pakistan's demand for including moderate elements of the Taliban into a future Afghan administration.

Interfax quoted Mr. Ivanov as saying that Russia's viewpoint was shared by ``the majority of the world community'' and therefore Moscow ``sees no reason to believe that Russia could have any sort of contradiction on this issue with the United States.''

The future government in Afghanistan should have a place for all ethnic groups and enjoy ``broad international support of both Afghanistan's neighbours and other countries which play a significant role in the region,'' the Russian Foreign Minister said.

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Section  : International
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