The Russian president calls the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan an 'escape'

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan as an "escape", noting the need for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to develop a coordinated approach to deal with the resulting risks.

 

"Our organization now faces an urgent task to follow a coordinated approach given the concrete risks associated with the escalation of the situation in Afghanistan after the rapid withdrawal" of "escape" of the United States forces, Putin said via video conference. and its NATO allies from this country.

 

The Russian president admitted that the change of power in Afghanistan came almost without bloodshed, stressing that this is a positive matter without any doubt. "The Taliban now controls almost the entire territory of Afghanistan, and the new Afghan authorities must be encouraged to fulfill their promises to bring peace, normalize social life and ensure security for all," the Russian president added.

 

In this regard, Putin suggested studying the possibility of resuming the work of the joint working group between "Shanghai Cooperation" and Afghanistan, warning that the developments of events in this country affect the security of all member states in the region.

 

The Russian President stressed the need to benefit primarily from the capabilities of the "Shanghai Organization" in order to contribute by all available means to launching a comprehensive peace process among Afghans in conjunction with doing everything possible in order to confront the dangers of terrorism, drug smuggling and sectarian extremism coming from this country.

 

The summit of the leaders of the Shanghai Organization was launched in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, on Friday, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its founding. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was established in 2001, includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia have the status of observer countries, while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Nepal are the partner countries of the organization.