Moscow invites Taliban to Afghanistan talks on Oct. 20

Russia will invite representatives of the Taliban to international talks on Afghanistan that it plans to host in Moscow on Oct. 20, President Vladimir Putin’s special representative on Afghanistan said on Thursday. Moscow hosted an international conference on Afghanistan in March at which Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan released a joint statement calling on the then-warring Afghan sides to reach a peace deal and curb violence. Since then, the United States and its allies withdrew their troops after 20 years on the ground, the Taliban seized power in a lightning advance and the previous government collapsed…. (Excerpts from  Reuters)