Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following talks in New Delhi on Monday, decided to immediately provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan people. This was said in a joint statement published on the Kremlin website.
"The two leaders expressed strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while stressing the need to respect the country's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and ensure non-interference in its internal affairs," the document said. "They [the leaders] also discussed the humanitarian situation in the country and decided to immediately provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan people," the joint statement said.
In addition, Putin and Modi advocated that Afghanistan should never become a "safe haven" for global terrorism. "They [the leaders] declared their firm commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including its financing, eliminating terrorist infrastructure and countering radicalization, so that Afghanistan will never become a 'safe haven' for global terrorism," the Kremlin website said.
The leaders stressed that Afghanistan's territory should not be used to harbor, train, plan operations or finance any terrorist groups, including IS (banned in Russia), al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), Lashkar-e-Taiba (banned in Russia) and so on. Putin and Modi also stressed the central role of the UN in Afghanistan, recalling the importance of relevant UN resolutions on Afghanistan as well as the recent outcomes of the Moscow consultations format and other international and regional mechanisms.
"The leaders welcomed the close interaction between the Russian Federation and the Republic of India on Afghanistan, including through the establishment of a permanent consultative mechanism on the issue between the security councils of the two countries," the statement said. Among other things, the Russian side welcomed the convening of the Delhi Dialogue of Advisors and Secretaries of Security Councils on Afghanistan on November 10 in New Delhi, as well as the Delhi Declaration on Afghanistan adopted after the meeting.
"[Putin and Modi] stressed the priorities of creating a truly inclusive and representative government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, providing immediate humanitarian assistance, and protecting the rights of women, children and minorities," the statement summarized.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS