Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents confirmed on Wednesday that they would send emissaries next month to peace talks in Russia, a diplomatic twist in repeated efforts to settle the 17-year-old war.

The Taliban’s acceptance of an invitation by Russia to the Sept. 4 talks planned in Moscow was a reversal for the group, and came after the government of Afghanistan and its main supporter, the United States, declined invitations to attend.

In a message to The New York Times bureau in Kabul, the Taliban said through a spokesman that the chief of their political office in Qatar would lead a delegation to the Moscow talks.

How such talks would proceed without all parties present is unclear. But the outreach by Russia has threatened to disrupt diplomacy undertaken by Afghan and American officials.