Vladimir Putin says Russia will work to ‘normalize’ Afghanistan

Vladimir Putin says Russia will work to ‘normalize’ Afghanistan
June 29, 2022, 8:55 am

Afghanistan map

Russia is working actively to “normalize” the situation in Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday (June 28) during a visit to neighbouring Tajikistan, evoking Moscow's responsibilities in the area, the Alarabiya English reported, citing the AFP.

Putin said during talks with Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon: “We are doing everything to normalize the situation (in Afghanistan) and we are trying to build relations with the political forces that control the situation.”

But their starting point was that Afghanistan's ethnic groups should take a full part in running the country, he added, in comments broadcast by Russian media.

He told Rakhmon: “Here, you know best... what needs to be done to ensure that the situation in the region, in this zone where we have a common responsibility, is stable and threatens no one.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin - Pic. Facebook

This is Putin's first trip abroad since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

Russia has a major military base in Tajikistan, one of its allies in the region.

Tajikistan as a 1,200-kilometre (750-mile) long border with Afghanistan and Tajik forces regularly clash with Afghan drug smugglers.

Vladimir Putin to meet Ebrahim Raisi during visit to Turkmenistan

The return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan last August has led some observers to fear that Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet states, could be destabilised.

The country remains economically very dependent on Russia.

Source: alarabiyaenglish

US singer R. Kelly faces decades in jail at sex trafficking sentencing Report: Canada is losing billions of dollars in unpaid tax each year