The situation in Afghanistan, particularly in the northern parts of the country, is getting more complicated, which is a source of concern, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said this on Tuesday, speaking at the II Central Asian Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club.
"When we talk about Central Asia, <...> we can't ignore the risks that exist. First of all, there are risks associated with Afghanistan, where the situation, unfortunately, is still far from stable. Recently the situation, especially in the northern part of Afghanistan, has become complicated, and our partners, particularly Tajikistan, are concerned," he said.
The deputy minister also said that Russia assists the Central Asian countries through the CSTO and expresses readiness to further cooperate with the states of the region.
"Nevertheless we are ready to cooperate with these countries, we help and strengthen the common security and provide assistance within the CSTO framework. There are problems, but at the moment we are ready to solve them," he concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS