Addressing a meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday expressed concern that Daesh has established equipping and training centers outside Afghanistan.

Muttaqi said that the attacks claimed by Daesh in Afghanistan over the past three years mostly involved foreign nationals.

He called on countries in the region to stop their citizens from being recruited by Daesh.

Muttaqi also called the concerns of some countries about the existence of threats on Afghan soil “completely baseless,” saying that it indicated an “information vacuum” or “distortion of information by saboteur circles”.

“Our request is not to look at Afghanistan through the lens of outsiders, but to make sure you use reliable sources of information,” he said. “We are willing to cooperate in this regard.”

Muttaqi also called on countries in the region to cooperate in preventing the smuggling of processed drugs into Afghanistan.

“We have been able to change the narrative in Afghanistan over the past three years from security concerns to development orientation, economic reconstruction, attracting investment and providing better services to the Afghan people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the meeting that Moscow wants to expand relations with Afghanistan in the political and economic spheres. He praised the Islamic Emirate’s efforts to ensure security and fight drugs.

Lavrov also said that Russian companies are interested in investing in agriculture, mining and transport in Afghanistan.

He claimed that the US and its allies are attempting to use the United Nations to insert themselves into the Afghan settlement process and take it under their control.

“In this regard, I would like to call for exercising vigilance in relation to attempts by the United States and its allies to insert themselves into the settlement process in order to take it under their control, including by using the authority of the UN for these nefarious purposes,” he said.