Russia

Taliban Unlikely to Gain Full Control of Afghanistan, Russian Envoy Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The scenario of the Taliban (designated a terrorist group and banned in Russia) taking full control of Afghanistan is highly unlikely, Russia's special presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said on Thursday.
Sputnik
"First of all, we don't think this scenario will work. But we are prepared for different scenarios. The current one, if you bother to look at my briefing from a few years ago, we discussed such a scenario, which proves that we have been elaborating and calculating various scenarios. One of them is unfolding now. By the way, it was the main one in our analysis. Since we looked into it, we are prepared for it", Kabulov stated.
U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan
Kabulov added that even though according to American estimates the Taliban had captured more than 200 out of 417 Afghan districts, the government troops claimed to have regained control over 30 districts already.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent weeks as the Taliban have intensified their offensive since the foreign forces began to withdraw from the country.
* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
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