The joint calls from Lavrov and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan at the May 27 talks reflected their synergies in perspectives on conflict resolution. After this display of common purpose, Oleg Barabanov, an influential foreign policy analyst at the Valdai Discussion Club, postulated that Russia should promote the notion of a “trustworthy Taliban,” as the “friend-foe” stereotypes in Afghanistan had been jettisoned. While Ghani has offered the Taliban eventual political recognition as a carrot to participate in the peace talks, this cordial rhetoric is at odds with the opinions of many influential figures in Kabul, like Amrullah Saleh, who recently described the Taliban as having “scorpion genes” and possessing “Bronze Age logic.”
Although influential Afghan political figures, like Kabul governor Mohammed Yaqub Heidari, continue to emphasize the Afghan government’s close relationship with Russia, tensions between Russian policymakers and Ghani’s government have risen in recent months.
Read more on https://thediplomat.com/2019/06/russias-falling-out-with-kabul/
