Afghan political process impossible without Taliban's cooperation, says Russian FM

UNITED NATIONS - It is impossible to achieve the political process in Afghanistan without the Taliban's cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday told a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York.

The Security Council resolutions have a need to advance the political process in Afghanistan, and this is impossible to achieve without working with the Taliban, said the top Russian diplomat in response to a question about the possibility or plan of either easing or lifting the international sanctions against the Taliban.

Noting that the current situation "is not limiting or obstructing our contacts" with the Taliban, Lavrov said that the Security Council's sanctions "do not prohibit such contacts."

Speaking about Russia's contacts with the Taliban, the foreign minister said that Russia is "first and foremost geared towards ensuring that the security and safety of Russian citizens be upheld."

"And second, to facilitate the inter-Afghan reconciliation and inter-Afghan political process," he added.