Russia considers it important to hear in the UN Security Council a report on the results of the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.
"Still, it would be important to hear a report in the UN Security Council on the years-long efforts of the respective contingents," she said.
She stressed that the alliance's mission in Afghanistan could be characterized as a failure. The diplomat drew attention to the fact that the Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation) control more than half of the country. "The potential of al-Qaeda (banned in the Russian Federation) is reduced, but cells of the terrorist organization, according to UN data, are still present in 11 Afghan provinces. In addition, with the presence of NATO troops, Afghanistan has become a refuge for a new global terrorist threat in the form of ISIS (former name of the banned in Russia group Islamic State - TASS) that has up to 4,000 fighters in the country and regularly carries out terrorist attacks, including those in Kabul".
The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted that during the time of NATO presence in Afghanistan, the area of opium poppy cultivation has increased more than 20-fold. "Afghanistan accounts for over 80 percent of the global opiate market. According to the UN data, 24 out of 34 provinces of the country are producing drugs," she informed.
According to her, despite billions of dollars in investments, Afghanistan remains the poorest country in Asia with high levels of corruption and unemployment. In addition, the diplomat noted, billions of dollars in training for Afghanistan's national security forces have dissipated. "The Americans and other NATOs, when they left, promised to support the Afghan security forces. Whether they will be able to do so is a big question, because for twenty years the alliance has never managed to create local, combat-ready security structures that could independently protect the country and ensure law and order in it," Zakharova summarized.
Direct negotiations
Russia expects that the Afghan government and the Taliban will refrain from an escalation of violence and use the time left before the withdrawal of foreign troops to reach an agreement to settle the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted.
Zakharova stressed that direct, substantive inter-Afghan negotiations on the issue of national reconciliation remain the only way to achieve peace. "We expect that Kabul and the Taliban movement will refrain from escalating violence in the remaining months until September 11, using this time to maximum advantage to reach agreements on the key issues of the agenda for resolving the situation in the country, including a cease-fire, the completion of the exchange of prisoners and the formation of an inclusive government," the diplomat said.
US and Taliban representatives signed a peace agreement in Doha on Feb. 9, 2020. Under the agreements, the United States and its allies intend to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan within 14 months (until May 1, 2021). The Taliban assured that they would not use the territory of Afghanistan for actions threatening the security of the USA and their allies.
Earlier the US president Joe Biden announced that he planned to begin the withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan in May and to finish it by September 11, 2021. The Taliban believe this decision violates the agreement reached with the U.S. in Doha. According to the Taliban, this violation "opens the way [for the movement] to take all necessary countermeasures, therefore, the US side will be responsible for all future consequences".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from TASS