Zakharova: NATO countries must not leave the situation in Afghanistan as a legacy to the people of the country

03 November 2021



Western countries can not leave the situation in Afghanistan as a legacy to the people of the country and as a problem to the countries of the region, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.


"I would like to emphasize once again that the contribution to the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan is, of course, globally the responsibility of the countries that have been imposing their orders there for 20 years. The situation as it is now, cannot be left as a legacy to the people of Afghanistan and as a problem for the regional countries without bearing full responsibility for what NATO countries and Western countries led by the United States have been doing there for 20 years," she said.


Cooperation of Russia and the CSTO


Russia is effectively cooperating with its partners from the Collective Security treaty organization (CSTO) to combat common threats emanating from Afghanistan, particularly terrorism and refugee flows, Zakharova said.


"We have effective cooperation with our CSTO partners in countering common challenges and threats emanating from Afghanistan, such as the spread of terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as the task of curbing migration flows," she said.


The diplomat noted that the risks of terrorist and criminal elements' penetration from Central Asia to Russia under the disguise of refugees from Afghanistan arouse particular concern. "We proceed from the fact that the issue of curbing migration flows from Afghanistan is directly linked to the internal political and, of course, the economic situation in this country. The creation of normal living conditions, guarantees of security and stability in Afghanistan itself should lead to the fact that Afghan citizens simply do not need to seek shelter somewhere outside their homeland," Zakharova pointed out. - "We think the main role in this should be played by those countries whose twenty-year military presence has led to the current sad state of affairs in Afghanistan".

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry

Based on materials from TASS