US envoy for Afghanistan holds talks in Moscow with Russians

MOSCOW – The Russian Foreign Ministry says it has hosted a U.S. special envoy for talks on Afghanistan.

The ministry said the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, met Friday with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and a presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov.

It added that the discussions focused on the current situation in Afghanistan and possible “Russia-U.S. co-operation as part of international efforts to help establish a direct dialogue between warring Afghan parties.”

Last month, Moscow hosted a conference on Afghanistan that brought together representatives of the Afghan authorities and the Taliban.

Russia says it has sought to play a peace broker because the continuing fighting in Afghanistan threatens the interests of Russia and its allies in Central Asia.