On September 18, Afghanistan held its first free parliamentary elections in 36 years. "Moscow sees the elections as evidence that the Afghan people are striving to overcome the grave consequences of the Taliban regime and to move along the road of democratic reform toward political stability and prosperity," Mikhail Kamynin, the ministry's official spokesman, said.
Mikhail Margelov, head of the international committee of the Federation Council (Russia's upper house of parliament), said Russia's policy in Afghanistan boiled down to fighting Talibs and drug trafficking, and ensuring stability in Central Asia as a whole, which is contingent on the situation in Afghanistan. "We can only ensure our interests with a legitimate, strong democratic government in the country," Margelov said.
A Russian official praised the emergence of the national armed forces and police in Afghanistan. He said over the past three years Russia had provided military equipment worth more than $100 million to the country.
