Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that the Taliban do not control entire Afghanistan, adding that an armed resistance to the group is forming in the Panjshir Valley.
According to Lavrov, the resistance is backed by Afghanistan's deposed vice-president Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud, the son of a slain anti-Taliban fighter.
"The Taliban doesn't control the whole territory of Afghanistan," Lavrov told reporters at a press conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Libyan counterpart.
"There are reports of the situation in the Panjshir Valley where the resistance of Afghanistan's vice president Saleh and Ahmad Massoud is concentrated," he said.
Lavrov also reiterated his call for an inclusive dialogue involving all political players in Afghanistan for the formation of a "representative government".