The position of the Afghan government, controlled by the Taliban (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), on the Ukrainian conflict is “unambiguously positive and supports Moscow’s point of view”. About it in an interview with Russian media declared Zamir Kabulov, Special Representative of the President of Russia for Afghanistan, Director of the Second Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Kabulov, Taliban government officials understand “the origins of this crisis and its consequences”. “They are well aware that this is not a Russian-Ukrainian war, it is much wider and bigger,” the diplomat said.
Speaking about the prospects for cooperation in the military-technical sphere, Kabulov stressed that the Afghan authorities are interested in Russian specialists who help repair and maintain armored vehicles and artillery. “For the most part (these weapons) are Soviet-style, although (the Afghan regime) has a large stockpile of arsenals inherited from fleeing Americans. There is such interest (in cooperation with Russia), but I would not say that it has acquired practical forms. In principle, this possibility remains,” admitted the diplomat. In the meantime, Russia has “some limited cooperation” with Afghanistan, he added without giving further details.
Kabulov also spoke of the continued threat to Afghanistan’s stability due to US support for opponents of the Taliban. “(They are doing this) not only to incite various terrorist groups against the current government. The task is larger: to create a belt of tension to put pressure on Russia via our allies in Central Asia, on China via Xinjiang and, for obvious reasons, on Iran. This is in fact the purpose and goals of such actions of the Anglo-Saxons,” the Russian diplomat said.
In April, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the United States of supporting terrorists in Afghanistan. “There is compelling factual evidence that Americans support terrorist groups that remain in Afghanistan and oppose the Taliban, including the Islamic State (a terrorist group banned in Russia), including the Turkestan Islamic Movement (a terrorist group banned in Russia) and including Al-Qaeda (a terrorist group banned in Russia),” Lavrov said, adding that Russia would oppose US attempts to “reintroduce its military infrastructure to the region.” .
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