Premature to talk of official recognition of Taliban govt - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. April 6 (Interfax) - Any talk of officially recognizing the Taliban movement, which is proscribed in Russia, is currently premature, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"It is too soon to talk about official recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. It is important to note, though, that diplomatic contacts between our countries did not stop even after the regime change in Kabul. And contact with the Talban, we maintained it even before the regime change," Zakharova said at a briefing.

"The Russian Embassy to Afghanistan is continuing to work as usual. As for the Afghan diplomatic mission in Moscow, it was appointed by the previous government. The first Afghan diplomat posted by the Taliban government arrived in Moscow in February. In March, he received our ministry's accreditation and in late March the Afghan Foreign Ministry informed us about Afghan Ambassador to Russia Saeed Jawal's completed stint and the appointment of Jamal Garwal as Afghan charge d'affaires ad interim in Moscow," Zakharova said.