Taliban, Afghan opposition hold talks in Moscow irking Kabul

Taliban officials and senior Afghan opposition leaders held peace talks in Moscow, sidelining President Ashraf Ghani's government.

The move to end the 17-year war comes a week after talks were held with US negotiators in Doha.

In a television interview, Ghani reiterated that no peace deal could be finalised without involving his government as "the decision-maker".

"At the end of any peace deal, the decision-maker will be the government of Afghanistan," Ghani said, adding "No power in the country can dissolve the government.