Russia has never cooperated with the Taliban, and only those who are either poorly versed in the situation in Afghanistan or deliberately distort the facts speak of any collusion between Moscow and the Taliban, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.
The American newspaper New York Times on June 26 published an article claiming that a certain unit of Russian military intelligence encouraged the Taliban to attack international coalition troops in Afghanistan for a fee. Subsequently, this publication was denied, including by Donald Trump personally.
"These are ridiculous statements. They can only be voiced by those who are poorly versed in the situation in Afghanistan or deliberately distort the real state of affairs in the region," Patrushev said Argumenty I Fakty.
According to him, "if to put everything in its place, it was the United States that was at the origin of the Taliban movement.
"One of the longest and most expensive operations in the history of the CIA, conducted in the 1980s under the code name "Cyclone", was aimed at financial and military support for the Afghan Mujahideen, who then formed the backbone of the terrorist forces not only in Afghanistan, but throughout the region. We were talking about billions of dollars, " Patrushev said.
According to him, the revelations of former US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who admitted that Washington sponsored Afghan terrorists in favor of its own geopolitical ambitions, are well known.
"Russia, on the contrary, has never cooperated with the Taliban. Moreover, in 2003, by the decision of the Supreme court, this group was officially recognized as a terrorist group in Russia," he recalled.
According to Patrushev, "we should also remember that Russian and American intelligence agencies cooperate in a wide range of areas," and the fight against terrorism is "an area where there are concrete practical results."
"In this regard, any claims that our country colluded with the Taliban, especially for the purpose of killing American soldiers, have no grounds," Patrushev said.
"I would like to believe that in the future, the American media will take a more responsible approach to their publications and will not provoke additional tension in relations between Moscow and Washington. We can only hope that in the future American political circles will solve their internal problems without trying to earn election points at the expense of Russia, " the Security Council Secretary concluded.
He also spoke about the prospects of withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan. Russia, according to him, will welcome real steps by the United States to end the internal political conflict in Afghanistan as soon as possible, while the future withdrawal of American troops from this country should not lead to a degradation of the situation there.
"The presence of American troops in Afghanistan is currently legitimate. It is up to the US to determine when and to what extent to withdraw its military contingent. At the same time, we believe that the withdrawal of troops should not lead to further degradation of the situation in this country, which may create additional challenges for the entire region," Patrushev said.
He noted that the Washington-led NATO "Resolute support" mission "remains a lot of questions", "its goals and tasks remain unfulfilled", and the Afghan national security forces, despite the billions of dollars spent by the Americans on their training, are not able to maintain security in the country.
"At the same time, Afghanistan confidently maintains its status as the world's largest producer and supplier of opiates, providing more than 80% of their illegal turnover in the world. Since the beginning of operation enduring freedom in 2001, the scale of heroin production in this country has increased tenfold, " Patrushev said.
It is precisely because of these factors that Afghanistan remains a serious source of threats to the security of Russia and the SCO member States, he added.
"Our country will also welcome real steps by the Americans to bring the Afghan internal political conflict to an early end in order to stop the bloodshed and launch a dialogue on the post-war reconstruction of the country. For its part, Russia will also continue to take consistent steps to assist the Afghan people in resolving the situation, " the Security Council Secretary concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti