Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed deep concerns over the continuing deterioration in security in Afghanistan, suggesting that the Afghan government and the Taliban must engage in direct peace talks to end the ongoing turmoil.

In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday, Putin said that Moscow warmly welcomes Iran’s involvement in promoting direct peace and reconciliation talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgents.
 
"Russia believes that Iran made a fruitful contribution at multilateral talks in Moscow in February by joining the international efforts aimed at the launch of a constructive dialogue between the Afghan government and Taliban militants," Putin added.
 
In this episode of Farakhabar, host Fawad Aman discusses the topic with the following guests:
 
Jaffar Mahdawi, university lecturer
Ahmad Saeedi, political analyst