The decision of US authorities to transfer $3.5 billion from the Central Bank of Afghanistan to the Afghan Fund contradicts the norms of international law. This is stated in the commentary of the Russian embassy in Washington distributed on Wednesday.
"We have paid attention to the statement of the US State Department and the US Treasury about the creation of a certain Afghan Fund, which will receive $3.5 billion from the funds of the Central Bank of Afghanistan. We note that this decision was made despite numerous calls from the US and world community, humanitarian and human rights organizations, as well as prominent economists. We consider this step violates international law and the sovereignty of a foreign state," said the diplomatic mission's Telegram channel.
As the embassy stressed, the people of Afghanistan have the right "to independently manage the funds belonging to them, without the interference of foreign "controllers."" "We are convinced that such actions by the United States authorities, no matter what humanitarian slogans they may hide behind, will only worsen the plight of the people of this country. We call on Washington to change its mind, return the assets of the Afghan central bank to their owner and stop using colonialist methods against sovereign states," Russian diplomats concluded.
Earlier, the Treasury Department reported that the US would transfer $3.5 billion from the frozen assets of the Afghan Central Bank to a Swiss trust fund that would be used to stabilize the economy of Afghanistan. The financing will bypass the government of Afghanistan, which is led by the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia).
Immediately after the Taliban seized power, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank suspended financial support to Kabul. The United States froze the Afghan government's state reserves in US banks to prevent the Taliban from accessing them. The total amount of frozen funds is $9.5 billion (including $7 billion of reserves that were kept in the United States).
The Biden administration had previously reported that it was considering releasing half of the nearly $7 billion in funds and setting aside the rest to compensate victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS