The Taliban said that 85% of Afghan territory is under its control, noting that it is discussing a ceasefire with the government, and linked the cessation of its attacks to the success of the Doha talks.

This came during a press conference held by a delegation from the Taliban’s political office today, Friday, in the Russian capital, Moscow, and announced that the movement seeks for all components of the Afghan people to participate in the management of the country.

The delegation pledged that neighboring countries and what it called friendly countries would not be subjected to any threats from Afghanistan. He said that his visit to Moscow aims to provide all the information concerning what he called the “Islamic Emirate.”

He added that the Taliban will not allow the expansion of ISIS in Afghanistan, and stressed that the movement will fight it. The delegation also confirmed that the movement is conducting negotiations with community representatives to determine the general structure of the state, and that this work is nearing completion.

At the same conference, a member of the Taliban negotiating delegation, Shahabuddin Dilawar, confirmed that the movement will not control the capitals of the Afghan states by force, nor will it carry out any attack on administrative centers and government buildings as well as consulates in all Afghan lands.

control of the crossings

In a related context, an Afghan security source told Al-Jazeera that Taliban militants took control of the “Abu Nasr Farahi” border crossing with Iran.

A source at the Ministry of Finance, which supervises the crossings, confirmed to Al-Jazeera earlier that the Taliban had controlled another border crossing with Iran, the “Islam Qala” crossing, which is located in the western province of Herat.

A source in the Iranian General Staff announced that the Afghan government had asked the Iranian government to help return Afghan border guards soldiers who entered Iranian territory after the Taliban attack on the border crossing “Islam Qala”.

The source added that Iran has accepted the Afghan request and is working to operate a flight to Kabul to transport Afghan border guards.

The Islam Qala crossing is one of the four most important border crossings with Iran, serving about 20 Afghan provinces, and through it most of the legitimate trade between the two countries passes.

Last month, the Taliban took control of Sher Khan Bandar, the main border crossing between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and about 1,000 government soldiers were forced to seek refuge in Tajikistan after heavy fighting.

Russian warning

In a related context, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed his concern over the possibility of military operations crossing the borders of Afghanistan towards Tajikistan.

Lavrov said that Russia will not take any steps as long as combat operations are taking place within the borders of Afghanistan. He called for implementing the agreements signed between Washington and the Taliban movement and launching the political process as soon as possible.

Earlier today, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Taliban militants control about two-thirds of the Afghan border with Tajikistan.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Taliban are rapidly controlling most of the border areas, especially with Tajikistan. She added that the Russian military base in Tajikistan is equipped with everything necessary to restore control of the situation on the border.

The Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, General Anatoly Sidorov, was inspecting the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

This comes days after the expansion of Taliban militants in the border area between the two countries and Moscow’s talk that the movement is now controlling about two-thirds of the region.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a military alliance that includes 6 former Soviet republics along with Russia.

Ongoing battles

In a related context, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior announced the killing of 45 Taliban militants in Badghis province, including the deputy governor of the movement for the state and field commanders.

Yesterday, fighting intensified between the Taliban and the government army for the second day in a row in the city of Qal’at Naw, and black smoke rose over the capital of Badghis state, in the northwest of the country.

The Kabul government announced sending hundreds of commandos by helicopter to Badghis province to counter the attack launched by the Taliban, the first on the provincial capital since the start of the last stage of the withdrawal of US forces.

Yesterday, a security source told Al Jazeera that 16 government soldiers were killed and 3 others were wounded in an attack by Taliban militants on Badghis province. The Ministry of Defense had announced earlier that 69 Taliban militants were killed in a sweep of the army in the state.

At a time when the Ministry of Defense announced the killing of 4 Taliban fighters in Logar province (east) in a raid by government forces, the security source said to the island that the Taliban governor of Laghman province was wounded in a raid by government forces in the east of the country.

This source added that Taliban militants took control of the headquarters of Shahr Safa district in Zabul province in the south of the country.

A security source told Al Jazeera that a Taliban field commander and 9 others had been killed in an operation by government forces in Helmand province, in the south of the country.

Biden’s speech

The field developments come in conjunction with US President Joe Biden’s announcement yesterday evening that Washington has achieved its goals in Afghanistan, and set the next August 31 as the date for the end of the withdrawal of his country’s forces from there, and he also expressed his confidence in the Afghan army, and considered that the Taliban’s control of the country is not inevitable .

In a speech dedicated to this withdrawal, Biden explained that his country had accomplished what I wanted to do by preventing any future attacks on the United States from there, considering that what he called the terrorist threat had become outside Afghanistan, saying, “We are ending the longest war” in the history of the United States, “we will not send a generation.” New from the Americans to the war in Afghanistan.

Biden stressed that the only way to achieve peace in Afghanistan is to coexist with the Taliban, explaining that the Afghans must decide the fate of their country on their own. But he stressed that he will continue to support and assist this country, and considered that the regional countries have a role to play in reaching a settlement.

Later, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that no party in Afghanistan has achieved a military victory, and pointed out that there are no plans to celebrate the completion of the American withdrawal, and added, “We will not celebrate an important moment of achievement in this regard” It is a war that lasted 20 years without achieving Military victory.