Moscow calls on Dushanbe and Kabul to search for mutually acceptable options for resolving tensions on the Tajik-Afghan border, Alexei Zaitsev, deputy director of the Russian MFA Information and press department, said at a briefing on Thursday.
"We observe with concern the growing tension in Tajik-Afghan relations against the backdrop of both sharp statements of the leaders of the two countries. There are reports about the deployment of armed forces on the common border. <...> We urge Dushanbe and Kabul to seek a mutually acceptable way to resolve the situation," he said.
According to information from the Taliban (banned in Russia), tens of thousands of special units are deployed in the bordering Afghan province Takhar alone, Zaitsev said. He noted that difficulties are being observed in the country's socio-economic sphere: industrial production has decreased and prices are rising.
"There is a reduction in cash turnover, the country's banking sector is paralyzed. An overwhelming number of state employees, including the Taliban military, do not receive salaries. In these conditions, we paid attention to the decision of the US treasury department, which allows state agencies, international organizations and NGOs to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. We take it as a positive signal, especially taking into account that the United States bears the main responsibility for the current processes in Afghanistan," Zaitsev added.
According to the Russian MFA representative, a positive reaction followed from the Taliban movement. "We note another statement by the official representative of the movement about the intention to stop the smuggling of drugs from Afghanistan. We count on the active work of the authorities aimed at curbing the drug threat," he concluded
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from TASS