The Russian ambassador in Kabul says the Taliban have asked his embassy to convey their offer of a deal to a remaining pro-government holdout in northern Afghanistan.
Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov said on Saturday that a senior member of the Taliban's political leadership has asked Russia to tell fighters in the Panjshir Valley that the Taliban hope to reach a political agreement to settle the situation there. The diplomat says the Taliban claim they don't want bloodshed in the region.
The Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, a stronghold of the Northern Alliance militias that were allied with the US during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, is the only area that hasn't fallen to the Taliban.