KABUL. Oct 18 (Interfax) - A deputy prime minister in the Afghan government formed by the Taliban (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) will lead its delegation at a meeting in Moscow, the Afghan Foreign Ministry's spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Friday evening.
"A senior delegation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan led by Deputy PM H.E. Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi will attend the upcoming Moscow meeting and meet with representatives of different states to discuss issues of mutual interest," Balkhi said on Twitter.
Earlier on Friday Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told Interfax that the Taliban were ready to take part in Moscow talks over a Afghan crisis settlement.
On October 12 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped the Taliban would agree to take part in the Moscow format of negotiation on Afghanistan, due to be held in the Russian capital on October 20.
The minister also said that Russia, along with several other countries, intended to propose, during the Moscow meeting in particular, a UN conference on assistance, including humanitarian aid, for Afghanistan.