Extremists attempted to infiltrate Tajikistan from Afghanistan throughout the year: Russia

Throughout this year, attempts by extremists to infiltrate Tajikistan have been recorded at the Afghanistan border, Russia’s ambassador in Tajikistan, Semyon Grigoryev, said.

“We do not see much progress in the fulfillment of the Taliban’s (IEA) promises regarding ensuring the security of states neighboring Afghanistan,” Grigoryev said in an interview with TASS news agency released on Monday. “Throughout this year, attempts by extremists to break into the territory of Tajikistan have been recorded on the Tajik-Afghan border. Fortunately, all these attacks were promptly suppressed by the Tajik security forces.”

The diplomat said that the situation with drug trafficking is also ambiguous. Citing a UN report, he said that the smuggling of synthetic drugs has increased significantly, and there is a real boom in the production of methamphetamine in the country.

“Nobody understands how to deal with this yet. At the same time, Western countries have practically curtailed funding for programs to combat Afghan drugs crossing the Tajik-Afghan border,” he said.

On the issue of influx of Afghan refugees being evicted by Pakistan, Grigoryev said that there may be terrorist elements among the settlers in northern provinces of Afghanistan.

He said that Russia will continue to do everything possible to prevent attacks on the security and territorial integrity of its allies.