Russia and the Search for a Negotiated Solution in Afghanistan

Abstract

In early 2019, former Afghan mujahedeen leaders and key strongmen of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance met in Moscow to discuss matters of war and peace with their sworn enemy, the Taliban. For Russia, this was the culmination of a long evolution from being a marginal post-Soviet player into a major diplomatic actor on Afghanistan and a supporter of a negotiated settlement involving the Taliban. While secondary to the US–Taliban talks held since 2018 and to the official inter-Afghan talks that started in September 2020, Moscow-sponsored regional peace consultations and informal inter-Afghan dialogue merit attention in terms of how they contributed to the search for peace in Afghanistan and fit into Russia's broader foreign policy patterns.