Sergei Naryshkin, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), stated Russia’s position that Afghanistan should remain an independent state without military bases on its territory, adding that plans are currently being drawn up for mutually beneficial and equal cooperation with the country.
“Afghanistan has always attracted the attention of many international actors. The position of the Russian Federation is that Afghanistan should remain an independent state without military bases on its territory,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Council of Heads of Security and Special Agencies of CIS Member States in Samarkand. “This is in the interest of both regional states and above all in the interest of the Afghan people,” Naryshkin added.
“According to the Russian side, maintaining good relations with Afghanistan requires open and equal dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation. Plans are currently being drawn up to organize mutually beneficial economic cooperation, and we call on other countries to do the same, because only together can we restore a truly peaceful life to this country,” he stressed.
Earlier, Moscow formally recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. On July 1, Afghanistan’s new ambassador to Russia, Gul Hassan, arrived in Moscow. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko accepted his credentials on July 3.
On April 17, Russia’s Supreme Court granted the Prosecutor General’s petition to block the ban on the Taliban’s activities in the country. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it will lift the Taliban’s status as a terrorist group, paving the way for building a comprehensive partnership with Kabul for the benefit of Russia and the Afghan people.
MNA/