While the fall of Kabul to the Taliban as American troops beat a hasty retreat may have tarnished Washington’s reputation and slashed its ambitions, Russia isn’t rejoicing over the events, the country’s foreign minister has said.
Speaking as part of a campaign event ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections, Sergey Lavrov warned that regional instability is far from a cause for celebration. “People have written that we are gloating over events in Afghanistan,” the top diplomat said. “But there has been no such feeling.”
“We are very worried about some of our closest allies and neighbors, which border both Afghanistan and the Russian Federation and have visa-free travel agreements.” According to him, Russia is also concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Central Asian nation, given the history between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.
Also on rt.com Taliban militants won’t be allowed to run riot in Tajikistan after Americans pull out of Afghanistan, top Russian General tells RTMoscow has repeatedly said it will work with nearby nations, including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, to secure the frontier against possible incursions from Islamist militants, and it has staged drills in the border area with local partners. At the same time, despite the Taliban being banned as a terrorist organization in Russia, the country has hosted delegations from the group in an effort to make progress with peace talks.
President Vladimir Putin warned earlier this month that the chaotic withdrawal of US troops could give rise to new terrorist threats. According to him, fighters “disguised as refugees” could soon make an appearance in surrounding nations.
Also on rt.com Putin warns terrorists & Taliban fighters ‘disguised as refugees’ could be flowing out of Afghanistan amid chaos of US withdrawalLast week, in a call with his Chinese counterpart, Putin and Xi Jinping agreed to work together to maintain stability in the region. During talks, both sides reportedly “expressed their readiness to step up efforts to combat the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking emanating from the territory.”
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