Putin: Situation in Afghanistan Concerning, Decisive Actions Needed

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The situation in Afghanistan is concerning, decisive actions are needed to defeat terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Sputnik and the IANS news agency.

"The situation on the territory between India and Russia remains tense. In particular, the developments in Afghanistan still raise concern. Decisive actions are required to help that country in dealing with such challenges and threats as terrorism, extremism, and illicit drug trafficking," Putin said.

The president stressed that Moscow and New Delhi shared the need for supporting "national reconciliation efforts" under the international law and were interested in deepening constructive multilateral cooperation to support Afghanistan in solving the issues of national security, building counter-narcotics capacity, ensuring social and economic development, and enhancing interconnectivity.

"In more general terms, our country is willing to develop such formats of interaction in the above-mentioned region that would allow responding swiftly to emerging security challenges, jointly seeking for ways to address potential threats," Putin added.