Russia decides to withhold official recognition of Taliban for now

• Foreign minister says Russia wants the group to make good on promises it made when it came to power in Afghanistan.
• The US said it will not join international talks on Afghanistan organised by Russia.
• Moscow is hosting talks on Wednesday with officials from the Taliban, China and Pakistan.

MOSCOW: Russia has decided not to officially recognise the Taliban for now and wants the group to make good on promises it made when it came to power in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Lavrov was speaking in southern Russia on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Valdai Discussion Club and ahead of talks in Moscow on Wednesday which will be attended by a Taliban delegation.

He said the group's promises included, in particular, those on political and ethnic inclusivity in the make-up of the government.

Moscow is hosting talks on Wednesday with officials from the Taliban, China and Pakistan, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special representative was quoted as saying last week. 

US will not join Russia's Afghanistan talks this week

Meanwhile, the United States on Monday said it will not join international talks on Afghanistan organised by Russia this week due to logistical reasons, but is open to participating in the future.

"We will not participate in the Moscow talks. The Troika-plus has been an effective, a constructive forum. We look forward to engaging in that forum going forward, but we are not in a position to take part this week," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

"It has been effective in the past, it's just logistically difficult for us to take part this week," Price said.

Asked if the United States supports the process, Price said: "We do."

Moscow hosted a 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Since then, the United States and its allies have withdrawn their troops after 20 years on the ground, the Taliban seized power and the previous government collapsed.

The United States and other Western countries are grappling with difficult choices as a severe humanitarian crisis looms large over Afghanistan. They are trying to formulate how to engage with the Taliban without granting it the legitimacy it seeks while ensuring humanitarian aid flows into the country.