Afghanistan has found itself in a state of devastation and its residents are fleeing their homeland, but Russia hopes there will not be a mass exodus of refugees, Russian president Vladimir Putin said.
"After the Americans hastily left there, if not to say escaped with their NATO allies, they all left behind an open Pandora's box full of problems related to terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and, unfortunately, religious extremism. We are also observing this," Putin said during his speech via video link at the joint meeting of SCO and CSTO leaders.
"By leaving, the Western community abandoned a whole arsenal of modern weapons, military equipment and ammunition. This is probably the only thing that the Taliban (the movement is considered terrorist and is banned in the Russian Federation) got after the 20-year presence of the Western coalition in Afghanistan. There is nothing good in this, actually," Putin added.
"The country found itself in a state of complete economic and social devastation. Many Afghans are fleeing their homeland out of desperation. Yes, we hope there will not be a mass exodus of millions of people, but this is still a fact: many are trying to leave the country and move to neighboring countries," Putin said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti