Russia hints Taliban govt. in Afghanistan. Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan has said Moscow may recognise the Taliban interim government and has reserved grain for the South Asian country to avert a possible food crisis there.

“There is such a possibility. Its conditions were determined by both the Russian president and the foreign minister,” Zamir Kabulov told Russian state television channel One Russia. Kabulov said Russia will not follow the United States and other countries in recognizing the interim Taliban government.

He said that the Taliban are willing to cooperate with Russia and work according to accepted international rules. Kabulov said the Taliban government’s deputy trade minister will visit Moscow, adding that Afghanistan wants to buy some products and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has allowed grain to be reserved for Afghanistan.

After the withdrawal of foreign forces ended a 20-year war last year, the Western-backed government and its security forces collapsed in the face of Taliban military gains. The governments of the world do not recognize the new configuration of the Taliban.

The UN has warned that more than a million children under the age of five in Afghanistan are likely to face the most severe form of malnutrition this year. It is the result of worsening living conditions caused by droughts and extreme poverty. Many aid agencies have already cut billions in finances from the Taliban-led government, leaving many families struggling to make ends meet.