Putin expressed hope for the development of relations between Russia and Afghanistan

Russia hopes for the development of relations with Afghanistan and the current leadership of this country. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this at a press conference in Astana on November 28.

According to the Russian leader, the situation in Afghanistan is currently stabilizing.

"Complex processes are taking place in Afghanistan. We hope that we will be able to build relations with Afghanistan. We cannot ignore the fact that the situation there is stabilizing, we have relations with the current leadership of Afghanistan and will develop," Putin said.

He reminded that the CSTO is engaged, among other things, in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking, so the association is interested in stabilizing the situation in this country.

A day earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that without removing the status of terrorists from the Taliban Islamist movement in power in Afghanistan (the organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities), it is impossible to develop cooperation in practice.

Before that, on October 4, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the West to return Afghanistan's misappropriated assets and lift sanctions. He noted that the "cynical policy of the collective West" has led to an obvious deadlock in the situation around the Islamic Republic. The minister added that Washington and its allies, while declaring their support for the Afghan people, are actually hindering the reconstruction of the state.

Back in early June, Putin noted that stability in Afghanistan is very important for both Russia and other countries in the region, so it is necessary to build relations with the Taliban government.