SCO Summit: Putin Calls for Common Line on Afghanistan in Wake of US 'Flight'
07:48 GMT 17.09.2021 (Updated: 09:18 GMT 17.09.2021)
© REUTERS / US ARMY
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The US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan came amid the Taliban* increasing its military activities, which resulted in the militant group seizing power in the nation on 15 August.
Speaking at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for hammering out a common line on Afghanistan following the US "flight" from the war-ravaged nation.
"Our organisation is now facing an urgent task of pursuing a common, agreed upon line, taking into account the serious risks related to the aggravation of the situation in Afghanistan after the hasty withdrawal, not to say flight, from the country of the US forces and their NATO allies", Putin underscored.
He also stressed the need to encourage the new Afghan government to deliver on their promises to maintain peace and security in the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held in Dushanbe, via videoconference, at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia
© Sputnik / Alexei Druzhinin
"Indeed, the change of power [in Afghanistan] took place almost bloodlessly, and this is undoubtedly a positive moment. The Taliban currently controls almost the entire territory of Afghanistan, and the new Afghan authorities should be encouraged to deliver on their own promises to make peace, normalise public life, and ensure security for all", the Russian president said.
He called for dealing with "the issue of resuming the activities of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group, which was previously created to cooperate with [our] Afghan partners".
US President Biden has repeatedly been criticised for the "chaotic" American troop exit from Afghanistan, which wrapped up in late August and came amid the Taliban's rapid offensive that led to the militant group seizing power in the country on 15 August. The developments were followed by the Taliban announcing an all-male interim government in Afghanistan in early September, with key ministerial posts going to the militant group's hardliners.
30 August 2021, 20:37 GMT
Separately, Putin proposed to include specialists on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism in the staff of the SCO's regional anti-terrorist structure, a measure that he said could strengthen the organisation.
"As for direct cooperation within the SCO framework, we would deem it useful to strengthen the functional capabilities of the regional anti-terrorist structure by including experts on combating money laundering, financing of terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the structure's staff", he pointed out.
Putin additionally stressed that Russia "will take a very energetic role" in the implementation of the SCO cooperation programme on countering terrorism, separatism, and extremism for 2022-2024, an action plan for the fulfillment of the SCO anti-drug strategy by 2023, as well as plans for interaction to ensure international information security for 2022-2023.
*The Taliban is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.
