The conference in Moscow is part of intensifying negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban and the United States in Qatar to negotiate Washington’s exit and end decades of war.
The United States is supposed to complete a withdrawal of all its troops from Afghanistan by May 1 as part of a deal with the Taliban—a deadline US President Joe Biden said Wednesday would be “tough” to meet.
Washington also wants to jump-start the peace process and get the Taliban and Afghan government to agree to some form of power-sharing.
The Kremlin, which pulled Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 after a bruising occupation, last week threw its weight behind Washington’s initiative for an interim government that included the Taliban.