Afghan President Ghani Abandoning His Country Shocked Everyone, Russian Envoy to UN Says
16:01 GMT 16.08.2021 (Updated: 11:01 GMT 26.10.2022)
© Photo : Afghan President's Office
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UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s decision to abandon Afghanistan over the weekend shocked everyone, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council on Monday.
"Today, all eyes are on Kabul, which yesterday was quickly abandoned by the country's leader, by ordinary Afghans, and by some diplomatic services", Nebenzia said. "It is clear that such a sudden shift took everyone by surprise – including those who have recently made public statements about the military preparedness of the Afghan security forces, which had been trained over the past 20 years".
Taliban fighters and local people sit on an Afghan National Army (ANA) Humvee vehicle on a street in Jalalabad province on August 15, 2021.
© AFP 2023 / -
The Russian diplomat also stressed that the international community must help Afghanistan reach national reconciliation.
"We believe that the main power players, or the international community rather, must help Afghanistan, they must pull their efforts and this is to assist Afghanistan to achieve national reconciliation", Nebenzia said.
The Afghan president stepped down and left the country, claiming that he had to do so in order to stop the bloodshed. In a statement, Ghani said that the Taliban* will be responsible for the "honour, wealth and preservation" of the country.
A horde of people run towards the Kabul Airport Terminal, after Taliban insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul, August 16, 2021, in this still image taken from video obtained from social media
© REUTERS / JAWAD SUKHANYAR
The politician left after the militants seized all major cities in the country and surrounded Kabul, demanding that the government peacefully transfer power to the movement.
The Taliban currently controls the majority of the capital, including the presidential palace, and has seized control over all of Afghanistan’s borders.
*The Taliban is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries
