Afghanistan Situation Remains Challenging: Russia

While calling the security situation in Afghanistan challenging, Russia has urged Taliban to renounce violence and to take urgent action to launch an intra-Afghan dialogue.

“We urge the warring parties in Afghanistan, primarily the leaders of the Taliban movement, to renounce violence and to take urgent action to launch intra-Afghan dialogue,” the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a press briefing on developments in Afghanistan on Thursday in Moscow.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that the number of terrorist attacks was on the rise in Afghanistan and there could be no justification for their crimes.

Pointing to the recent attacks in Kabul, Kandahar and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan that left a large number of causalities and Taliban claimed responsibility for two of the attacks Zakharova said,” we resolutely condemn these heinous crimes perpetrated by the terrorists. There can be no justification for them”. Russia further hoped that the masterminds and perpetrators of those terrorist attacks would receive the punishment they deserve.

These statements comes as earlier Russian officials revealed contacts with the Taliban that aimed at ensuring the safety of Russian citizens and encouraging the Taliban to the negotiating table.

On December last year, the top commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan denounced Russia during a Pentagon briefing and accused the country was “Legitimizing” the Taliban inside Afghanistan.

Reported by: Fahim Noori