The issue of Afghanistan requires an exchange of opinions and information between Russia and the United States, and the mechanism of such contacts has been set, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
"These contacts emerge as the need arises, but the mechanism of contacts has been established. Certainly, the situation requires an exchange of opinions and information, so, of course, with a great degree of probability, these contacts will surely continue," the Kremlin official said in response to a question on whether the high-level contacts between Moscow and Washington are planned on the subject of Afghanistan.
The spokesman reiterated that earlier this week Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev held a phone conversation with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Peskov noted that Russia’s position with regards to the number of Afghan nationals the country is ready to receive has not yet been shaped, and this work is underway by migration authorities and Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
"There is no formed stance with regards to this," the Kremlin official said. "The work is underway both along the lines of migration authorities and along the lines of the Foreign Ministry," he added.
"The situation is changing, a lot of questions still remain, the position will be formulated as things clear up," the spokesman explained.
After the Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces.
