MOSCOW. Feb 6 (Interfax) - The Taliban (banned in Russia) is determined to open its own office in Afghanistan, without which peace talks are impossible, Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban delegation to the intra-Afghan talks in Moscow, said.
"A venue for negotiations and a communication site in the shape of an office is necessary for peace. At present, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan [the Taliban] has no open and formal address as a venue for negotiations, which is a preliminary requirement. It may be said that regular peace meetings could only be held in a state of availability of an office," Stanekzai said in his speech, the text of which Interfax has obtained.
"The office is also required to issue peace-related press releases, respond to questions of people as a responsible entity, and remove national and international concerns," he said.