Russia is attempting to mediate the ongoing conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with its Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev meeting Pakistan's army chief on October 14, and Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin meeting the Taliban's intelligence chief in Kabul. Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, stated earlier this month that Moscow is ready to broker peace if both sides request it. Pakistan has approached Russia, but the Taliban has not publicly requested mediation. Previous mediation efforts by Qatar, Turkiye, and China have struggled to de-escalate the conflict, and Russia's own mediation attempt on October 5 in Moscow was hampered by Afghanistan's objection to being linked with "terrorism."