The acting head of Afghanistan's Taliban-led government, Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, has met in Kabul with representatives from Russia, China, and Pakistan, Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi tweeted on September 21.
Muttaqi also uploaded photos purportedly showing Russian envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq Khan, and China’s special envoy to Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong.
Muttaqi also said the Taliban was represented by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Acting Minister of Finance Hedayatullah Badri. No details of the meeting were immediately available.
Moscow and Beijing have shown a united front on Afghanistan in the run-up to last month's hasty completion of the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the war-wracked country, with the Russian and Chinese leaders holding consultations on the situation following the power vacuum that resulted from the fall of the foreign-backed government and the Taliban's subsequent seizure of Kabul.
In the latest such contact, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on August 25.
Chinese media said after the call that Putin told Xi he shares China's positions and interests in Afghanistan and he is willing to work with China to "prevent foreign forces from interfering and destroying" Afghanistan.