By Banafsha Binesh in ToloNews, Aug 16, 2023 at 9:07 PM
A major security threat for the Central Asian nations is now emerging in Afghanistan, “where international terrorist organizations are gaining in influence,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.
“The security of Russia’s CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] allies in Central Asia is a key priority for the work of Russia’s defense agencies. Today, the main challenges and threats to the region are emerging from within Afghanistan, which is seeing growth in the influence of international terrorist organizations after [the collapse of] the decades-old US protectorate,” Shoigu said, as quoted by TASS.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, Moscow, August 15, 2023: “We must put an end to using terrorists for geopolitical purposes, be it in Afghanistan, Syria or elsewhere.”
China’s defense minister Li Shangfu said at the 11th Moscow Conference said that his country supports a political-diplomatic resolution to challenges, including in Afghanistan.
“We remain committed to contributing to peace talks and building a broader international consensus to resolve conflicts, whether in Afghanistan, Syria, the Korean peninsula, in Ukraine or the Iranian nuclear problem,” Shangfu noted.
The Islamic Emirate rejected these claims, saying that there is no threat to other countries from Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, emphasized that the concerns regarding the presence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan are baseless.
“These countries are given fake intelligence information that may not be accurate, which promotes cynicism and mistrust,” Mujahid said.
Military analysts have different views on this matter.
“This sort of risk, as indicated by the Russian defense minister, is caused by Moscow’s political perspective towards the region,” said Asadullah Nadim, a military analyst.
The 11th Moscow Conference on International Security kicked off on Tuesday in Moscow with the participation of 800 representatives from 76 countries. https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-184667
