Putin hopes the Taliban will be ‘civilised’, open to dialogue

The Russian president is treading carefully with the hardline group, which Moscow officially considers a ‘terrorist’ group.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he hopes the Taliban will behave in a “civilised” manner in Afghanistan so the global community can maintain diplomatic ties with Kabul. “Russia is not interested in the disintegration of Afghanistan. If this happens, then there will be no one to talk to,” Putin said. He was speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok.