Lavrov Warns of Foreign Operations Directed against Afghanistan

Sept. 29, 2023, (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed that Moscow is “concerned about the attempts by certain extra-regional players to become more active with regard to Afghanistan,” according to the transcript on the Foreign Ministry website. Lavrov’s statement came from a written address to the participants of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan taking place in Kazan, which include representatives of the Taliban, reported TASS.

Lavrov’s text was read out at the meeting by Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, who also serves as director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department.

His statement came in the context of last week’s meeting of the C5+1, where U.S. President Joe Biden met in New York with the Presidents of the five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. That meeting was followed up with a Sept. 26-27 meeting in Uzbekistan with the commander of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Michael “Eric” Kurilla, and the defense chiefs of the five Central Asian republics. The Prime Minister of Pakistan had also warned earlier this month that U.S. weapons left behind in Afghanistan after the hasty U.S. withdrawal in August. 2021, are falling into the hands of terrorists.

Lavrov said in his Sept. 29 statement to the Kazan forum that

“A full-scale pooling of efforts between the countries in the region and the NATO states is only possible under the condition that the latter fully recognize their responsibility for the lamentable results of their 20-year military presence in Afghanistan, which has culminated in a complete fiasco.”

Lavrov also took aim at the U.S. and EU freezing of Afghan central bank assets: “The Western countries, which have inflicted irreparable damage on the people of Afghanistan, must shoulder the main burden of post-conflict restoration of that country. In this connection, Washington’s blocking of the Afghan banking assets is counterproductive and only aggravates the state of affairs, complicating the already difficult living conditions of ordinary Afghans.”