The United Nations envoy to Afghanistan stipulated progress in peace talks and an end to violence against civilians, in order to recognize the Taliban movement as a partner, at a time when Moscow considered that the scenario of the Taliban seizing power completely is unrealistic.
At the same time, battles continued between government forces and Taliban fighters in separate parts of the country, resulting in dozens of dead and wounded.
The Ministry of Defense said that 37 Taliban fighters, including leaders of the movement, were killed in air strikes on Sarbul highway in the northern state of Jowzjan.
For its part, the Taliban said that they attacked a security point of the authorities in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar province, east of the country, which resulted in the destruction of the point and the killing of 9 soldiers.
The movement added that one of its fighters was wounded during the operation, and that it had seized weapons and ammunition.
In turn, local sources confirmed the news and reported that 8 soldiers were killed and 3 others were wounded during the operation, while 5 Taliban fighters were killed.
In a related context, dozens of young men demonstrated in Martyrs' Square in Kandahar, calling on the government and the Taliban to bring peace and stop the fighting.
For his part, President Ashraf Ghani affirmed that his government believes in a political solution, and that there is no military solution to the conflict.
international condition
On the other hand, the UN envoy to Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, said that the Taliban cannot be seen as a partner, without progress in peace talks and an end to violence against civilians.
In her speech before the Joint Follow-up and Coordination Committee in Kabul, Lyons stressed the need for honest and serious peace talks to end the conflict, because it is the only solution to that conflict.
She also said that 18 million Afghans are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
In turn, the Russian President's special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said that the expanded meeting of the international troika on Afghanistan will be held next week in Doha.
In a press conference held in Moscow, Kabulov added, that Moscow does not believe that the scenario of a complete Taliban takeover of power is realistic.
He pointed out that the Afghan military has no faith in defending the nation state, pointing out that the Taliban sees the Afghan president as a puppet of foreign forces.
Kabulov expressed concern about minorities in Afghan society with recent changes on the ground.
Meanwhile, a high-ranking Taliban delegation is visiting the Chinese capital to discuss the Afghan crisis.
Yesterday, Wednesday, spokesman for the movement's political office, Muhammad Naim, announced that Abdul Ghani Barader, the deputy political affairs officer, is visiting China at the head of a high-ranking delegation at an official invitation from Beijing.
Naeem said that the Taliban delegation "assured China (during the meeting) that Afghan territory would not be used against the security of any country."
For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed this meeting, noting that Minister Wang Yi asked his interlocutors to "draw a red line between them and all terrorist organizations such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement" (METO).