Russia on Wednesday recognised Taliban efforts to try and stabilise the situation in Afghanistan but expressed concern that “terrorist” groups threatened the stability of the entire region. Russia is hosting the Taliban for talks as the Kremlin seeks to assert its influence on Central Asia and push for action against Islamic State fighters which it says have massed in the perennially volatile country. The talks are one of the Taliban’s most high-profile international meetings since seizing power in mid-August. “A new administration is in power now,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told …

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