Afghanistan: BIG steps proposed at Moscow NSA meet

Moscow: The National Security Advisors (NSA) of India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have taken several key decisions regarding Afghanistan at the Fifth Multilateral Consultations of Secretaries of Security Councils on Afghanistan held in Moscow. Issues of international security with an emphasis on resolving the situation in Afghanistan were discussed during the consultations. According to a statement by the Security Council of the Russian Federation, these issues included the importance of fulfilling the international obligations assumed by the Taliban regime of Afghanistan to counter terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, as well as to form an ethno-politically balanced government. It was also noted during the meeting that the Taliban rulers of Kabul must respect the human rights of the people of Afghanistan. A number of additional practical measures aimed at improving the situation in Afghanistan were also proposed during the meeting. These measures were intended to expand joint actions in counterterrorism, as well as at acting against channels for financing terrorism, boosting cooperation in combating transnational organized crime, illegal arms, and drug trafficking. “I know that this meeting has become a tradition and is devoted to a very important issue, the situation in Afghanistan. Obviously, there is a lot of potential for conflict in the world today. There are many conflicts here, not far from Russia, including on the Ukrainian track. We are well aware and we realise this perfectly well, but this does not reduce the significance of the situation in Afghanistan. This has always been important for us and now it is important more than ever because we do not want more points of tension on our southern borders,” Russia President Vladimir Putin said during the meeting. “International terrorist organisations are stepping up their activities, including al-Qaeda which is building up its potential. You know this very well,” he added. “We are also worried about attempts to use the situation in Afghanistan to allow extra-regional forces to expand or build their infrastructure. These countries will create this under the pretext of countering international terrorism, but they are not doing anything that is really necessary in the real counterterrorism struggle.” Observing that the situation in Afghanistan is very complicated, Putin said it is important to find solutions. “We have contacted the country’s leaders in Kabul. We know there are plans to implement large economic projects that could stabilise the situation in the economy,” he said. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.