MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2019) Head of the Taliban's Political Office in Qatar and co-founder of the movement Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is set to deliver a speech at a conference in Moscow on Tuesday, which will mark the centenary of diplomatic ties between Russia and Afghanistan, organizers told Sputnik.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid earlier told Sputnik that a 14-member delegation, headed by Baradar, had already departed from Qatar for the Russian capital.
According to the program of the meeting, obtained by Sputnik, Baradar will take the floor after a welcoming address by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and a speech by former Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
This is the first time that the head of the Taliban's Political Office will be visiting Russia.
The event will be followed by an intra-Afghan peace conference on Wednesday. A Russian official told Sputnik that the Afghan government and the Taliban would hold direct talks for the first time ever during the conference. A source close to the Taliban movement has confirmed the information.
