Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, speaking at the opening of the XVII Meeting of heads of security agencies and intelligence services of CIS states on intelligence activities, said it was necessary to block military supply channels to terrorists operating in Afghanistan.
"It is necessary to prevent further degradation of the humanitarian situation in this country, which leads to an increase in the migration flow in the Central Asian direction. We share the concern that terrorist and other radical elements can infiltrate through the southern borders in the guise of refugees. It is necessary to promptly cut off their channels of feeding them with any kind of military products," he said.
The minister added that it is important to strengthen cooperation within the CIS, CSTO and SCO. "Lavrov said, "This was recently discussed in detail by our leaders at the summits in Dushanbe in September.
In addition, the minister pointed out that today some Western countries offer Central Asian countries to establish bilateral security cooperation "under the pretext of assistance in overcoming the consequences of the changed military-political situation". "Of course, each country has the right to an independent foreign policy that meets the national interests of the people concerned. However, the real benefits of such proposals and the potential costs associated with them, including for regional stability, always require careful analysis," Lavrov stressed.
"I would consider it optimal to conduct such an analysis through the collegial regional mechanisms that exist between us," said the head of the Russian foreign ministry. - "We should also aim at combining these initiatives with the programs we have in our respective spheres, which are being implemented by the CIS".
The Taliban movement (banned in Russia) began a large-scale operation aimed at establishing control over Afghanistan after the announcement by the United States in spring of its decision to withdraw its armed forces from there. On August 15, the radicals entered Kabul without any fighting, and president Ashraf Ghani left the republic. On September 6, the Taliban announced that they were taking control of all of Afghanistan, and on September 7, they announced the composition of the provisional government.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS