Soviets Confirm Plans to Meet With Afghan Rebels for Talks
Soviet authorities said Friday that a high-ranking Soviet official will hold talks in Saudi Arabia with Afghan guerrillas to try to resolve the long-running conflict in Afghanistan.
Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir F. Petrovsky told a news conference that Yuli M. Vorontsov will leave for Saudi Arabia today to take part in the meeting. Vorontsov is a first deputy foreign minister and Soviet ambassador to Afghanistan.
Petrovsky said the aim of the meeting is to “try to find a solution to the problems of Afghanistan.”
He said the talks are being held “by agreement with and in coordination with” the Soviet-backed Afghan government of President Najibullah.
Petrovsky said that the current leader of the Muslim rebel alliance, Burhanuddin Rabbani, will be among those meeting with Vorontsov.
Petrovsky’s announcement was the first confirmation from Moscow that the Soviet Union will be taking part in the talks.
Under an agreement signed last April in Geneva, the Soviet Union has withdrawn half of its more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. The agreement calls for Moscow to pull out its remaining troops by Feb. 15.
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