Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on US statements about achieving its goals in Afghanistan, recalling that one of them was the containment of the Taliban.
Earlier, US leader Joe Biden said it was important to prevent a terrorist attack on the United States and it succeeded.
"So much has been said in Washington about how the goals in Afghanistan have been met that one wants to be clear. When with strange ease US officials begin to fantasize about "goals" and list them, one has to wonder who determined these goals and how," Zakharova wrote in her Telegram channel.
She recalled that in 2000 the International Security Assistance Force, a NATO-led international military contingent operating in the territory of Afghanistan, was created.
"It was created on December 20, 2001, by a decision of the UN Security Council dated December 20, 2001. UNSCR 1386 clearly states that the purpose of the International Security Assistance Force is to assist the Afghan Interim Authority to provide security in Kabul and the surrounding areas so that the Afghan Interim Authority as well as United Nations personnel can operate in a secure environment," the diplomat stressed.
She added that in October 2003, the UN Security Council decided to expand the mission beyond Kabul. "The expansion was gradual and was completed in October 2006, when the International Forces assumed responsibility for security throughout the country. The purpose of the enlargement in Afghanistan was to contain the Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation), giving the Afghans time to take control of the country. Now you can judge for yourself whether or not that was the case," Zakharova concluded.
Taliban seizure of power in Afghanistan
A few weeks ago, against the backdrop of the withdrawal of the American contingent from the country, the situation in Afghanistan sharply deteriorated: the Taliban began to attack major cities. It became known on Sunday that insurgents had taken control of all border crossings. Later that day the insurgents announced that they had entered the presidential palace.
The head of the republic, Ashraf Ghani, fled; his whereabouts are unknown. On Monday night, the Taliban's spokesman Mohammed Naeem said that the 20-year war was over and that a new form of government would soon be clarified.
Yesterday there was chaos at the airport in Kabul: Afghans who wanted to leave the country because of the Taliban coming to power stormed the planes. In the media and social networks there were images of people climbing onto the plane, which was already ready to take off. Later it became known that several people died when they fell off a plane.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from RIA Novosti