Security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev called for stepping up the exchange of intelligence information within the CIS in the light of recent events in Afghanistan.
"We need to step up the acquisition and exchange of intelligence information about the plans of international terrorist organizations and the intentions of the West to use them against our countries. In addition, it is important to coordinate more closely the foreign policy activities of the Commonwealth states in combating terrorism and extremism. It is necessary to work actively on unification of anti-terrorist legislation and standards of training of profile specialists," Patrushev said Wednesday at the opening of the 17th meeting of the heads of security and intelligence services of the CIS countries on intelligence activities.
He noted that a "serious negative influence" on the security of the CIS countries was caused by the "hasty withdrawal of the Western military contingent from Afghanistan." "In fact, during twenty years of the presence of the US and its allies in that country, they failed to fulfill any of their obligations. Instead, the West tried to impose foreign values on the Afghans, which, by definition, could not take root on the Afghan soil," emphasized the secretary of the Russian security council.
Patrushev remembers that "as a result, the puppet regime in Kabul collapsed in a matter of days". According to Patrushev, the Americans have "simply left the Afghans to their own fate, trying to shift the whole burden of responsibility on the neighboring countries".
The secretary added that the US had, in fact, laid a time bomb in the region, including leaving a large amount of modern weapons and military equipment to the Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation). "In the current situation, they (weapons) can easily fall into the hands of terrorists from ISIS (Islamic State, banned in Russia), al-Qaeda (banned in Russia) or other groups posing a serious threat to our states," Patrushev pointed out.
Fighting drug trafficking
The Taliban's real commitment to fighting drug production in Afghanistan has yet to be evaluated, said Patrushev.
According to him, drug trafficking is still one of the main threats to the CIS region. "Afghanistan remains the largest producer of opiates in the world, providing up to 90 percent of the world market. Afghan drugs serve as one of the main sources of funding for terrorists. Today, the Taliban pay lip service to the idea of fighting drug production, but their real steps in this direction are yet to be assessed," Patrushev said.
He pointed out that according to the latest estimates of the UN Office on drugs and crime, thanks to well-coordinated work of law enforcement agencies and special services, the so-called northern route passing through the territory of the CIS member states accounts for only about one percent of the Afghan drug traffic. "I see our common merit in this," noted the secretary of the security council of the Russian Federation.
In his opinion, in the future, it will be necessary to continue the practice of holding a special exercise of anti-drug services and internal affairs bodies under the conventional name "Thunder", as well as the annual anti-drug operation "Canal" through the CSTO.
"Today the Committee of the heads of law enforcement units of the CIS customs services is involved in its work as observers. I propose to consider the possibility of involving representatives of the special services of the interested Commonwealth countries to participate in the mentioned operation", said Patrushev.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Mikhail Metzel / TASS
Based on materials from TASS