Russia calls for talks between Afghan government and the Taliban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia called on Wednesday for urgent talks between the government in Afghanistan and the Taliban, its Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding Russia could host such talks.

"We strongly recommend that negotiations start as soon as possible... to put an end to the civil war," the ministry said.

(Writing by Polina Ivanova; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh and Toby Chopra)