Russia will cooperate in Afghanistan only with those forces that are not connected to terrorists, Russia's Permanent Representative to the world organization Vasily Nebenzya said at a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday.
"We would like to stress that the Russian Federation will interact only with those political forces in Afghanistan that are not associated with terrorists, primarily with ISIS (the outdated name of the Islamic State terrorist group banned in Russia), al-Qaeda (a terrorist group banned in Russia) and their affiliated structures. We expect all Afghan parties to refrain from violence and help resolve the situation," he said.
The Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation) during their rule in Afghanistan in 1996-2001 gave shelter to al-Qaeda terrorists in the country. The connection of the Taliban with al-Qaeda caused the beginning of the US military operation in Afghanistan.
The fighters of the Taliban movement entered Kabul on August 15 without any fight and established full control over the Afghan capital within several hours. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he left the country to avoid bloodshed. Amrullah Saleh, vice-president of the republic, said that in the absence of the head of state, he became acting head of the country by the constitution, and called for armed resistance to the Taliban. Western countries evacuate their citizens and embassy staff.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zuma \ TASS
Based on materials from TASS