In a fresh attempt to expand its interactions with European countries, the Taliban’s embassy in Moscow has dispatched a delegation to Belarus.
According to the embassy, the delegation is led by Abdullah Yaser, a senior adviser at the mission. The group reportedly visited Afghan prisoners in Belarus and held talks with Belarusian officials about detainees’ conditions, including the possibility of transferring them to Afghanistan.
The move follows earlier Taliban engagements with Germany and Switzerland over the deportation of Afghan migrants. Germany recently admitted two Taliban diplomats, while Switzerland—according to the Afghan embassy in Geneva, still staffed by diplomats of the former republic—granted two Taliban officials a three-day entry permit to “verify identities” and facilitate deportations.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt previously stated that other European nations are also seeking direct talks with the Taliban to manage deportations.
Last year, the Taliban refused entry to an Afghan national deported from Switzerland, forcing Swiss authorities to fly him back. That incident pushed European countries to coordinate with the Taliban before carrying out further removals.
Although still largely isolated internationally due to its repressive policies, particularly against women, the Taliban appears intent on broadening its channels of engagement with the West.
