The Taliban has replaced Afghan soldiers guarding the Russian Embassy in Kabul, and its leadership has assured officials that diplomats can continue their work safely, Moscow’s ambassador to Afghanistan explained on Monday.
Speaking to TV channel Russia 24, Dmitry Zhirnov revealed that everything is continuing as usual for his country’s representatives in Kabul.
“Our embassy is already guarded by the Taliban. Today, there was a surrender: the Afghan National Security Forces soldiers who were guarding us left,” he explained. “The Taliban reaffirmed once again that nobody would be allowed to touch a single hair on [the head of] Russian diplomats.”
Also on rt.com US ‘failure’ in Afghanistan handed country to Taliban, Moscow says, claims American ‘hegemony’ declining as Russia & China on riseThe Taliban, which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia, told Zhirnov that his diplomatic mission would be able to work “in peace,” he said. He also noted that the girls school, located next to the embassy, is still functioning as normal.
Zhirnov also spoke to Russian TV’s Channel One and revealed that everything is working “calmly” and there is no reason to reduce staff numbers.
“We met [the Taliban] today, and there was a very good, well-organized transfer of guard posts from employees of the Afghan National Security Forces,” Zhirnov said.
Also on rt.com Majority of Taliban tired of fighting & ready for peaceful Afghanistan now US troops have left country, top Russian official saysThe situation in Afghanistan has intensified in recent weeks, following the US decision to withdraw its troops from the country. On Sunday, militants from the Taliban entered the Afghan capital of Kabul and declared that they had taken control of the entire nation, including all its major cities and border checkpoints. On the same day, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
Ghani became president of Afghanistan in September 2014, marking the first time in the country’s history that power was democratically transferred. Since his election, Ghani has enjoyed a close relationship with the US, which has pumped almost $1 trillion into the country. According to a 2019 study by Brown University, Washington has spent around $978 billion in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2001.
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