There is no obvious threat of military expansion by the Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation) from Afghanistan to the territories of the border states. This was stated by CSTO Secretary-General Stanislav Zas at the conference "Collective Security in a New Era: Experience and Prospects of the CSTO" of the Valdai discussion club on Wednesday.
"Yes, we see that now such a direct threat of military expansion by the Taliban is not seen in the territory of neighboring states, including our CSTO member Tajikistan," he said. - "But at the same time, other threats from these territories, such as terrorist and drug trafficking, remain acute".
Zas pointed out that "in the conditions of socio-economic crisis and humanitarian catastrophe" unfolding in Afghanistan, the urgency of these threats is growing because "bandit formations, terrorist organizations and drug trafficking as one of the sources of people's survival are activated." "Of course, we bear this in mind and intend to continue to pay utmost attention to strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border and ensuring the security of our southern borders," the secretary-general added.
After Washington announced last spring its decision to withdraw its armed forces from Afghanistan, militants of the radical Taliban launched a large-scale operation to take control of the country. On August 15, they entered Kabul without a fight and President Ashraf Ghani left the country. The radicals claimed control of the entire Afghan territory on 6 September and announced the composition of the provisional government on 7 September. Western countries had to urgently evacuate their citizens.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Vadim Savitsky/TASS
Based on materials from TASS