By Fidel Rahmati in Khaama Press online, June 15, 2023
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia warned of the expanding threat from Islamic State from Afghanistan to the neighbouring countries in the region.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the Islamic State (IS), also named Daesh, is trying to undermine the security and stability in Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries with the support of externals.
“The security situation in Afghanistan is tense,” she pointed out at a briefing on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum,” is involved in acts that are subversive to the governments of the countries, Tass reported.
“the group seeks to undermine stability in the Central Asian countries neighbouring Afghanistan. In this, ISIL is encouraged by external forces; ISIL members themselves have confirmed that the terrorist group receives funds from foreign intelligence agencies and there are foreign terrorists among its fighters,” she added.
The Ministry also said that it is challenging for the current regime of Kabul to control the situation as the government is dealing with financial issues due to the Western sanctions.
“Kabul has been able to keep the situation stable in the country, although that is not easy to do given sanctions and Western countries’ move to block the Afghan Central Bank’s assets,” Ministry said.
In May, Sergey Shoigy, Russian Défense Minister, accused the United States of aiming to exploit militant groups, including IS in Afghanistan, to destabilize the region.
During his meeting with his counterparts from other CSTO member states, he made remarks to discuss regional issues and challenges.
He asserted that Afghanistan continues to be a source of instability and that the US plans to harness the potential of terrorist groups to destabilize the region.
He also warned the nations of Central Asia, especially the CSTO member states, warning them that illegal armed organizations will likely try to invade their neighbours’ countries in the future.
Meanwhile, “Russia, for its part, continues to provide free assistance to the Afghan people,” Zakharova emphasized. “In particular, another shipment of Russian food was delivered to Afghanistan in May as part of our core contribution to the UN World Food Program, which contained about one thousand tons of food,” she asserted.
https://www.khaama.com/russia-warns-of-expanding-threat-from-daesh-in-afghanistan/
