The Russian President's special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, described the Taliban's control of areas in northern Afghanistan as a positive factor that provides the security of Russia's partners in Central Asia, while calm prevailed on the fighting fronts between Afghan forces and the Taliban on the first day of Eid al-Adha.

On Tuesday, Kabulov said at an event organized by the Valdai Forum for Dialogue that the Taliban constitute a "repressing factor for extremist groups whose target is not Afghanistan, but Central Asia, Pakistan and Iran."

"Unlike the Afghan government, not to mention foreign powers that did not fight but cooperated with ISIS, the Taliban fights them and eliminates them. Therefore, the Taliban in this framework is a positive factor from the point of view of the security interests of our partners and allies in Central Asia," the Russian official said. .

The Russian President's envoy to Afghanistan denied there was any evidence of Taliban movement to cross the border into Tajikistan or Uzbekistan.

In the past weeks, the Taliban had taken control of a number of border districts with Tajikistan, and its advance led to the escape of hundreds of Afghan soldiers to Tajikistan, before returning to their homeland days later. The Tajik authorities have deployed more forces on the border with Afghanistan to face threats from the neighboring country.


The Taliban recently sent delegations to Russia and Tajikistan to send messages of reassurance about the repercussions of the movement's control of border areas, and the Taliban's field progress came in conjunction with the start of foreign forces' withdrawal from Afghanistan last May, and is expected to be completed at the end of next month.

Earlier yesterday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was premature to talk about the collapse of the government of President Ashraf Ghani and the restructuring of the balance of power in Afghanistan. The ministry added that the Taliban leadership is tired of war, and realizes that it is necessary to search for a political way out of the impasse in Afghanistan.

Eid calm

On the field level, calm prevailed on the various fronts of fighting between the Taliban and government forces on the first day of Eid al-Adha. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the movement decided to release dozens of Afghan government forces in various states of the country on the occasion of Eid.

In previous holidays, the Taliban announced a temporary ceasefire, and said they wanted to let Afghan citizens spend it in peace.

On the other hand, an Afghan security source told Al Jazeera that mortar shells fell yesterday near the presidential palace in the Afghan capital, Kabul, while President Ashraf Ghani was performing Eid al-Adha prayers, without any casualties recorded.

The spokesman for the Taliban's political office, Suhail Shaheen, said that the movement's control of some districts was achieved after the security forces joined the ranks of the movement.

In an interview with CNN, Shaheen added that the Taliban's policy is based on reaching a peaceful solution in Afghanistan, and that the movement's goal "is to establish an Islamic government in the country instead of the Kabul administration."


Kabul Airport

In a related context, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is studying the possibility of operating Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan if its conditions are met.

He stated that his country's conditions for managing Kabul Airport "are Washington to stand by us diplomatically and to provide logistical support."

Erdogan added that the Taliban can hold meetings with Turkey more smoothly than its meetings with the Americans, because it shares one belief with it, noting that Ankara will discuss with the Taliban movement, which is upset about some issues, the Afghanistan file and the process related to the operation of Kabul Airport.

The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that it is putting the final touches with the Turkish side on securing Kabul Airport.